13 



miles (247.8 km.), averages 4.2 feet per mile (1.8 m. per 

 km.), and that of the Bulkley from Hazelton to Telkwa, 

 a distance of 58 miles (93.3 km.), 17. 1 feet per mile (5.2 m. 

 per km.). The elevation at Telkwa is 1,650 feet (502.8 

 m.) above sea level. 



NATURAL RESOURCES. 



The principal natural resources of the district consist, 

 on the coast, of fisheries and the product of the forest, and 

 in the interior of agriculture and mining. 



The Skeena is a noted salmon river, and the fishing 

 industry has been established on a firm basis for some 

 years, and is still growing. The product of the numerous 

 salmon canning establishments, located on islands off the 

 mouth of the Skeena and along the mainland, is very 

 large, in favourable seasons exceeding 200,000 cases. 

 Other fishes of commercial importance are the cod, herring, 

 oolachan, and farther away, near the Queen Charlotte 

 islands, the halibut. 



The Coast district is forested, practically everywhere, 

 up to a height of about 4,000 feet (1,219 m -) above sea 

 level. The principal forest trees along the lower part of 

 the Skeena are the hemlock (Tsuga Mertensiana), the 

 stately Sitka spruce (Picea Sitchensis), specimens of 

 which frequently attain diameters of from 6 to 8 feet 

 (1.8 to 2.4 m.), and the white fir {Abies grandis). The 

 cottonwood (Populns trichocarpa) is well represented 

 along the lower flats. Less common trees are the valuable 

 yellow cedar {Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) , and the red 

 cedar (Thuya gigantea). 



The area of land available for agriculture is very 

 limited near the coast, but the country east of the Coast 

 range, although generally rough and mountainous, contains 

 a number of large areas suitable for this and kindred 

 purposes. Among the most important of these are, the 

 wide longitudinal depressions which follow the Kitsum- 

 gallum and Kitwancool rivers from the Skeena north to 

 the Nass, the benches along the upper Skeena, and the 

 great terraced valley of the Bulkley. Production as yet 

 is small because settlement has barely commenced. It 

 includes small fruits and apples in the valley of the Kitsum- 

 gallum, and roots and hardy cereals farther inland. 



