Telegraph Creek | |
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Coordinates: 57°54′N 131°10′W / 57.900°N 131.167°W[1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Regional district | Kitimat–Stikine |
Area | |
• Total | 1.46 km2 (0.56 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 53 |
• Density | 36/km2 (94/sq mi) |
Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek.[3] The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Tahltan First Nation and non-native residents. The town offers basic services, including Anglican and Catholic churches, a general store, a post office, a clinic with several nurses on-call around the clock, two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, and a K-9 school. Steep river banks and rocky gorges form the terraced nature of the geography.
The community includes Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6, Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6A, and Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve No. 12[4][5][6] which are under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation of Telegraph Creek. Stikine Indian Reserve No. 7, which is one mile west (downstream) and on the opposite side of the Stikine River, is under the governance of the Iskut First Nation of the settlement of Iskut, which is on the river of the same name. The two bands together comprise the Tahltan Nation.
Tahltan (or Nahanni) refers to a Northern Athabaskan people that live around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake and Iskut.