Professor Dawson^ the eminent Canadian geologist, believes 

 the section of the Colimbia above the mouth of Blue River and 

 Donald Canyon^ located some 30 miles below Golden, B.C., was 

 formerly united with the Kootenay River. A 'lalSer^ii , slight tilting 

 of the earth's surface took place which was sufficient to change 

 the drainage of Columbia Lake to the north and dovm the present 

 Columbia's course^ and form the present upper lagoon and lake 

 sectiono The Kootenay, which is a sizeable stream at this point, 

 now passes within a mile of the Columbia at Canal Flats, but goes 

 in the opposite direction and a* aii' /oievation of bhly 9< feet higher 

 than the Columbiao During high water periods, the Kootenay flooded 

 into the Columbia on the flats and at such tines in the past, salmon 

 and other fish that had always been unable to ascend the falls in 

 the lov;er Kootenay may possibly have entered and spread through the 

 Kootenay from the tipper Col\mibia River at 'Canal Flats p In the latter 

 part of the 18th century, steamers ran from Golden through Columbia 

 Lake and in 1888, a canal and locks were constructed to connect 

 the Colimabia and the Kootenay at Canal Flats o When the railroad 

 came through the Rockies to Golden and up the Beaver River, it 

 proved to be too much competition for boat traffic and regular 

 steamer service was discontinued before 1910o The canal was 

 destroyed by the great flood of 1894. 



In spite of the difficulty that the many rapids on the upper 

 Columbia presented to boat traffic, they probably were negotiated 

 with much less difficulty for salmon or even other fish. The 

 faster straight rapids were usually very deep, and in their depths 

 the fish probably found many eddies and a variety of currents that 

 aided them in passing such stretches. The rougher, more tortuous, 

 rockstrewn rapids have even more eddies and cross currents that 

 salmon can seek out and utilize, and there are no real falls above 

 Kettle Falls that would necessitate jumping. 



There is a paucity of references to Indian fishing between 

 Arrow Lakes and the slack water below Golden, BeCo Had the 

 salmon actually been held up at any point along this long section 

 of the river, the Indians would seemingly have known it and gathered 

 there to fish. 



The more common Columbia River fish seem to be well distributed 

 clear to Columbia Lake. Ling (Lota lota) and squawfish (Ptyohocheilus 

 oregonensls ) are taken in Lake Windermere, and the usual trout are 

 taken in neighboring streams, 



Salmon spawning streams are probably lacking below Kinbasket 

 Lake or Surprise Rapids due to the fact that nearly all of the 

 stretch below is bordered by cliffs, steep canyon walls or directly 

 by high steep mountain sides. Because of falls only the few larger 

 streams could be ascended for any distance, and even these are 

 swift, cold, snowfed streams that probably lack spawning areas. 

 The plateau section above the Big Bend, therefore, would be one 

 of the first extensive areas in the Canadian section of the Columbia 



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