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The places behind the trail

Stories from Prince George and northern BC

Forest science, mountain landscapes and local history. Find another reason to get outside.

11 to 17 of 17 stories in Landscapes & science

  • The Nechako’s Ancient Fish: The Story of the White Sturgeon

    White sturgeon at the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Abernathy Fish Technology Center in Washington, April 2024. A still from Typhanie Shepherd’s USFWS underwater video, not a fish photographed in the Nechako River.Typhanie Shepherd / USFWS Pacific · Public domain
    Photo details

    Photographed: Taken on 17 April 2024, 11:45:00

    Original title: White Sturgeon at Abernathy Fish Technology Center (53661481504).jpg

    Beneath the Nechako is a conservation story measured in decades: long-lived white sturgeon, missing young fish and the work to restore a riverbed.

    3 min read
  • Two Rivers, Two Colours: Watching the Fraser and Nechako Meet

    The Fraser and Nechako confluence during unusually low water in spring 2024, photographed by Andrew Kurjata. This records a particular water level, not the usual appearance of the rivers.Andrew Kurjata · CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
    Photo details

    Photographed: 2024-04-03

    Original title: Some photos from where a confluence of rivers should be I took last week for a story you may have seen on CBC

    At Prince George’s river confluence, a changing line in the water can reveal sediment, seasons and the slow work of two rivers mixing.

    3 min read
  • Why Is That Mountain Lake Blue? Reading the Colours of Northern BC’s Lakes

    Berg Lake beneath Mount Robson. This older photograph illustrates a glacier-fed mountain lake; glacier extent and shoreline conditions have changed since it was taken.Airj1012 at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0
    Photo details

    Photographed: 2005

    Original title: Berg Lake - Mount Robson.JPG

    Turquoise, clear blue, green or almost black: the colour of a northern BC lake tells a story about light, water and what its watershed carries.

    3 min read
  • What a Fallen Tree Becomes: Life on the Forest Floor

    Fallen wood along the Berg Lake Trail, photographed in August 2011. This illustrates forest structure without identifying a particular decay organism.Sébastien Launay · CC BY 2.0
    Photo details

    Photographed: 2011-08-19 19:18:22

    Original title: Forest along Berg Lake Trail.jpg

    A fallen tree can become shelter, a seedbed and a slow-moving store of carbon. Look closer at the wood beside a northern BC forest trail.

    3 min read
  • When the Birds Return: A Spring Day on Vanderhoof’s Nechako River

    The Nechako River Bird Sanctuary in Vanderhoof, photographed in August 2012. This is a habitat view outside the spring migration season.irmiller · CC BY-NC 2.0
    Photo details

    Photographed: 2012-08-19

    Original title: Nechako River Bird Sanctuary

    River islands, migrating geese and the small details of a stopover make Vanderhoof’s Nechako River a rewarding place to watch spring unfold.

    3 min read
  • Winter Swans at Fraser Lake: A Different Reason to Head West

    Trumpeter swans in British Columbia in 2019. This species photograph illustrates the birds discussed here; the source does not identify Fraser Lake as the location.Jakub Fryš · CC BY-SA 4.0
    Photo details

    Photographed: 2019-03-28 18:05:19

    Original title: Trumpeter swans in winter.jpg

    Fraser Lake’s winter swans offer a quieter northern BC outing, shaped by open water, feeding places and conditions that change through the season.

    3 min read