Kitimat River

Kitimat River
Kitimat River, August 2012
Mouth of Kitimat River
Etymology	Gitamaat First Nation people[1]
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
District	Range 5 Coast Land District
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Kitimat Ranges, Coast Mountains
• coordinates	53°58′25″N 128°4′18″W / 53.97361°N 128.07167°W / 53.97361; -128.07167[2]
• elevation	1,285 m (4,216 ft)[3]
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
• location	Kitimat, Douglas Channel
• coordinates	54°0′39″N 128°39′44″W / 54.01083°N 128.66222°W / 54.01083; -128.66222[1]
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	100 km (62 mi)[4]
Basin size	1,990 km2 (770 sq mi)[5]
Discharge
• location	mouth[5]
• average	131 m3/s (4,600 cu ft/s)[5]
• minimum	18.2 m3/s (640 cu ft/s)
• maximum	3,030 m3/s (107,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Wedeene River, Little Wedeene River

The Kitimat River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, near the sources of the Dala River, Kemano River, Atna River, and Clore River. It flows in a curve north, then west, then south, emptying into Kitimat Arm at the head of Douglas Channel, at the town of Kitimat.

The river is named after the original First Nations inhabitants of the river valley, the Gitamaat, which means "People of the Falling Snow" in the Tsimshian language.^[1][6] The Gitamaat people themselves are not Tsimshian but Haisla. Today the Haisla Nation is centered on Kitamaat Village, near the mouth of the Kitimat River.