Klinaklini River
| Klinaklini River (Tsawatti) | |
| Name origin: Kwak'wala word for eulachon grease | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | British Columbia |
| Source | Unnamed lake |
| - location | Coast Mountains |
| - elevation | 2,130 m (6,988 ft) |
| - coordinates | 51°45′3″N 125°5′51″W / 51.75083°N 125.09750°W |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
| - location | Knight Inlet, Coast Mountains |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 51°5′32″N 125°37′34″W / 51.09222°N 125.62611°WCoordinates: 51°5′32″N 125°37′34″W / 51.09222°N 125.62611°W |
| Basin | 5,780 km2 (2,230 sq mi) |
| Discharge | for mouth |
| - average | 299 m3/s (10,559 cu ft/s) |
| - max | 3,260 m3/s (115,126 cu ft/s) |
| - min | 38 m3/s (1,342 cu ft/s) |
The Klinaklini River (Kwak'wala name Tsawatti or Tswawadwi, also used to mean the whole of Knight Inlet) is one of the major rivers of the Pacific Ranges section of the Coast Mountains in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Pantheon Range and empties into the head of Knight Inlet.
A different spelling of Klinaklini is Kleena Kleene, which is the name of a recreational community on the river just below its exit from the Pantheon Range onto the Chilcotin Plateau. In the area of Kleena Kleene the Klinaklini, Homathko and Chilanko River basins share the same stretch of plateau.
The names Kleena Kleene and Klinaklini derive from the Kwak'wala word for eulachon grease, which is made from the eulachon, a small oily fish that ascend coastal rivers.
There is a First Nation village of the Tanakteuk subdivision of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples at the mouth of the river, Tsawatti. Located on the Indian Reserve of the same name, it is the primary eulachon fishing and preservation site of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples and as such is open for use by other subdivisions of the Kwakwaka'wakw.
The Klinaklini River originates in small, unnamed lakes on the eastern slopes of Hellraving Peak, in the northern Pantheon Range, north of Mount Vishnu and Mount Waddington, and south of Perkins Peak.
From its source the Klinaklini River flows northeast to the Chilcotin Plateau, where it turns suddenly northwest. Its path is followed by British Columbia Highway 20. The river flows by the community of Kleena Kleene before entering One Eye Lake. Below the lake the Klinaklini turns west, while Highway 20 continues north along McClinchy Creek, a tributary of the Klinaklini. The river flows generally south and west through the Pantheon Range, collecting numerous tributary streams. Below Colwell Creek the river briefly widens into Klinaklini Lake.
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Wikipedia