If you were looking for Tahltan country on a map you would look in northern British Columbia, in the Stikine River drainage basin. You will see that this is a high plateau set in the northern regions of the Coast and Cascade Mountains. The map does not give a clear picture of our country, however. To fully understand the look of our land, you need to get the viewpoint of a bird flying over our country. From this vantage point, you will see that our country is divided into two very different areas, the lower Stikine River region and the upper Stikine River area. Each area has its own landforms, climate, plants and animals.

The lower valley of the Stikine, from just below Glenora to the coast, is a distance of about 220 km (160 miles) by water. From the air, looking down, you see that the land is made up of high, rugged, rocky peaks and many glaciers. This region is almost empty of life.

The ruggedness of the land is a barrier between the coast and the interior. We Tahltans have never lived here. When we did come to this region, we used only the area around Glenora. Otherwise, if we visited the region beyond that, it was only for a short time and usually only to hunt.

Glenora

Mountains in Tahltan country usually run parallel to the coast, north and south. But from the air you can see that the ridges in the lower Stikine run in all directions. They give an impression of mountains piled on each other. It is a jumbled, rugged mass of rocky mountains with high peaks. The sawtooth mountains are a perfect example of the types of mountains found in this area. These mountains form one of the mountain ranges and are well-named since it looks like a saw blade.

The lower Stikine is in the Coast Mountains and has a coastal climate. That means, it is an area of great humidity (dampness) and high precipitation (rainfall and snowfall). The annual precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) is more than 10 meters (30 feet) a year. Much of the precipitation is snowfall. Since the mountains are so high, it is not surprising that there are glaciers in the area. Or that long after spring has reached the colder interior, this area still has ice and snow.

The climate is warm and wet. We see the results of this climate in the heavy growth of plants. Forests of spruce, fir, cedar and hemlock cover the mountains right up to tree level. Cottonwoods grow to a large size in the river valley. Stands of alder, willow, devil's club and berry bushes grow so thick and so close together that it is almost impossible to walk through them.

Very few animals live in this region. Mountain goats, marmots and black bears live in the mountains. A few otter, beaver, marten, mink, porcupine, wolves and foxes are found in the lower lands. Grouse, ptarmigan, eagles, ravens and crows are the birds which live in the area permanently. In the spring and fall, many other types of wild fowl stop to feed as they migrate through the area.

This region is both wet and rugged, so neither we nor the Tlingit have ever lived there. It is not popular as a hunting ground either, since there are so few animals and because it is so difficult to get to this area.

Glenora is the inland boundary of the coastal mountains. Beyond Glenora, the country has a totally different look than the land of the lower Stikine. It resembles the flat dry belt of southern B.C.

This interior, high plateau is the homeland of our ancestors. They traveled and hunted over the whole area, on both flat land and mountains, gathering plants for food and/or medicine and hunting. Tahltans have always depended on the land for their food and livelihood.

Flying high above the land of the upper Stikine, we see that it is a large, high, dry plateau, ringed by mountains. The land is rolling and a bit rough from erosion and glacial movement. We see the waters if many rivers, lakes, and streams gleaming throughout the whole region.

Geologists tell us that glaciers covered the area during the ice age. As the glaciers melted, they moved across the area. They smoothed the hills and rounded them as they slid. The glaciers also dropped silt and clay in the valley floors. Rivers cut through the soft ground and formed canyons as they flowed. Anyone who has ever slid around in the mud of Ward's Hill after it has rained understands very well the fact that there is clay in the area!

Upper Stikine

There were active volcanoes in our country thousands of years ago. They have also helped form the landscape. Mt. Edziza (means cinders or volcano ash and sand mountain in Tahltan) is a volcano cone.

Old lava flow can be seen in spots. It has been centuries since the last volcanic eruption, but some of our people remember stories about families who had to move camp in a hurry because of volcanic action. In a few places, lava has formed deposits of good quality obsidian. In early days, obsidian was widely used to make arrowheads for war, hunting, fishing, and trading.

The climate in Tahltan country is generally cool because of the high latitude (distance from the equator). But climate also depends upon the altitude. The higher up the mountain, the cooler the climate and the shorter the summer. The distance from the ocean also has an affect on the temperature. The farther we travel from the ocean, the cooler the climate. That means, it is usually warmer around Telegraph Creek than it is near Cassiar mountains.

Rain and snowfall also vary with the location. In the Stikine River and Tahltan River valleys above Glenora, the rain and snowfall (precipitation) is low, only about 40 cm (18 inches) for a year. As you move towards the Cassiar mountains, precipitation becomes heavier and heavier. In the Cassiar range the precipitation is about 3 meters (10 feet) per year. To the south, in the Nass River area, the rainfall becomes heavier again. We can tell that there is more precipitation because there is heavier timber growth in that area.

Anyone who has visited or lived here knows that there is a very wide range in temperature from summer to winter. The heat of the summer often reaches 35¡ C (100¡ The winter temperature is cold. It might drop to a low of -50¡ C ( -60¡ F). Temperature also varies according to the altitude. As you move up a mountain, the climate becomes colder.

Generally, ice begins to leave the rivers in April. By the end of April boats are able to travel on the Stikine. Ice starts to form in October. By November all lakes and rivers are frozen. At higher elevations, the water freezes earlier and melts later (nearer to the end of May or early June). We recognize the importance of weather in our lives in the names our months of the year. For example, November is Men Ten Cho, meaning big cold (Big lakes and rivers freeze).

The type of the land determines the types of plants which will grow there. As you saw, in Tahltan country, the rivers flow through narrow canyons so far below the land level that they do not water it. With low rainfall, the soil become very dry.

Low rainfall and dry soil means that to grow a garden means watering them through some type of irrigation. Irrigation from the rivers is difficult because the rivers are so far below the land surface.

Tahltans traditionally did not grow gardens. When they settled into towns, however, they began to grow vegetables and fruit as a way to be self-sufficient. So, when we moved into town, everyone had a garden in their yard. They also learned to irrigate their gardens because of low rainfall.

The soil in the area grows good gardens when there is enough water. For example, George Agouta's family grew a very large garden on the flat at Ten Mile. George built a wooden trough to bring water from a nearby stream so that they could water the plants. The Stikine River is about 800 feet below the surface at this point, so it was not practical to bring water from the River. This garden grew enough food to feed a large family and have some left over to sell.

We see that there are trees throughout our country, growing up the mountains to tree level. Trees grow slowly in this region. White spruce is the only tree that is large enough for building houses. The black pine, spruce, balsam, aspen, white birch, alder, and willow are common throughout.

There are 25 different types of edible berries in the region. These include favourites: soapberries, raspberries, blueberries (3 kinds), and strawberries. Thickets of rosebushes, saskatoons (also known as service berry), and highbush cranberry also grow well and we still pick them and put them up for winter even today.

Much of the country gives the appearance of being burnt over. The trees are small and do not grow very close together. The underbrush is not nearly as thick as in the lower Stikine. When the country is open and not timbered, grass and vines grow well.

The plateau areas around mountains, such as the Spatsizi, are gently rolling uplands. These areas grow many plants which have adapted to growth in this dry climate. These plants include mosses, lichens and low shrubs.

This is a country of big game animals and the whole area is rich in animal life. Caribou and moose are the plentiful. You can see these big in many areas throughout Tahltan country.

In early years, the caribou was the most important large animal. Our ancestors depended on the caribou for food, but it also supplied hide for clothing and tools for the household and for hunting. Today moose is the favourite big game animal, but we still like our caribou, too.

Mountain goats, mountain sheep, and marmots can be seen on higher land. Beaver, fisher, mink, marten, and ermine are found in around lakes and rivers. Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, foxes (red, cross-fox, silver fox, black fox), wolverine, lynx, porcupine, rabbit, squirrels, rats, and mice are everywhere.

Grouse and ptarmigan are the most important food birds. Geese, ducks and other birds were also eaten when they were available, such as during migration in the spring and fall. Swans used to be eaten, but now they are a protected bird. So we just enjoy looking at them.

There are fish in every body of water. Salmon and trout are plentiful in the rivers during the summer and early fall. Dolly varden, whitefish, trout of all kinds, char, and ling cod can be caught in our waters. Whitefish was the most common fish in Dease Lake years ago. Rainbow trout are delicious because of the cold lakes and streams in Tahltan country.

There is truly something for everybody in our country.