Nechako River

Nechako River
The Nechako River and Highway 16 bridge, near Fort Fraser
Etymology	Dakelh term meaning "big river"[1]
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
District	Cariboo Land District
City	Prince George
Physical characteristics
Source	Nechako Plateau
Mouth	Fraser River
• location	Prince George
• coordinates	53°55′2″N 122°42′53″W / 53.91722°N 122.71472°W / 53.91722; -122.71472[3]
• elevation	559 m (1,834 ft)[4]
Length	516 km (321 mi)[1]
Basin size	42,700 km2 (16,500 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	gauge at Isle Pierre[2]
• average	277 m3/s (9,800 cu ft/s)[2]
• minimum	40.8 m3/s (1,440 cu ft/s)
• maximum	1,180 m3/s (42,000 cu ft/s)

The Nechako River (Dakelh: ᘅᐪᙠᗶᑋ) /nəˈtʃækoʊ/ arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River. "Nechako" is an anglicization of netʃa koh, its name in the indigenous Carrier language which means "big river".^[3]

The Nechako River's main tributaries are the Stuart River, which enters about 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of Vanderhoof, the Endako River, the Chilako River, which enters about 15 kilometres (9 mi) west of Prince George, and the Nautley River, a short stream from Fraser Lake. Other tributaries include the Cheslatta River, which drains Cheslatta Lake and enters the Nechako at the foot of the Nechako Canyon via Cheslatta Falls, near Kenney Dam and the Nechako Reservoir.