Terrace Lava Beds

Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park near Terrace

A sign at the entrance to the park tells the story of the volcanic eruption. Before the volcanic eruption (placed at around middle 1700's) there was a large lake where the present lava beds are. The Nass River ran on the east side of the valley and the White-Spring tributary ran into the Nass. The different "wilp" (house) of the Nisga'a had camps and trails at different places along the river. The Gitlaxtaamiks were east of the tributary and the Gitwinksihlkw (people-of-the-lizards) on the west. For many years the people had heard rumblings from the mountains. They thought this noise might be supernatural. The people had been hearing sounds from the mountains for about three years.
    The year of the eruption, a group of boys were catching humpback salmon and putting a slit in the back in which they placed a piece of slate. The youth had been instructed regarding the sacredness of all life and knew that they were going against the teaching of their elders. The boys found it quite amusing to see the salmon swimming with the slate showing above the water. Not long after these boys started to make fun of the salmon, the eruption occurred.
    At first it was only big smoke, as if a house were burning up. The fire then began to slide down the mountain side coming very slowly. When the people started to smell it they began to suffocate, their bodies grew stiff. The Gitwinksshilkw on the far side of the river began to dig holes in the ground and bury themselves. The Gitlaxtasmiks did like-wise. A few people were asphyxiated especially at Gitwinksihlkw because the village was lower.
    A young woman of the chief class was in puberty seclusion in a small room at the rear of her house. In this panic she was forgotten by those who fled. The whole village was destroyed and burned by lava.    Long after the eruption when the lava seemed to have cooled the people went to explore. To ascertain whether the going was safe, they threw dogs down in front of them. As long as the dogs sank into the molten rock, the people did not proceed. The heat from the rocks was very great even after they had solidified. Much later they reached the destroyed village and located the site of the Chief's house where the girl had been left. They saw her sitting in the house with a head covering reaching down to her shoulders. She was quite recognizable with all the same features only now she was a pillar of lava rock.
     After the smoke had gone and the poison of the volcano had ceased to come down, the waters of the lake turned into steam and fire. Many people ran away but others stayed behind. The stones turned red hot and remained hot for many days. The White-Springs-Salmon River was all blocked up and dried up.
    The informants family remained there. After many years water began to flow once more. A new stream ran into the Nass and a big lake began to fill up the back of the mountains. This lake is now called Sii Tax (New Lake) Lava Lake. When the lake had filled up it began to overflow into the Nass through the creek now called Sii Aks (New Water). After a few years, the salmon became plentiful in this new water and have continued to run up this new stream. The family who stayed took possession of the Sii Aks and the rich trapping ground behind it. Before the volcano erupted the property in that area had belonged to Ksdyaawak, a different family.

Stop 3: Crater Creek Trail

Stop 7: Nisga'a Park Visitor Center

Wikipedia: Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park (Nisga'a: Anhluut'ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga'asankswhl Nisga'a) is a provincial park in the Nass River valley in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, about 80 kilometres north of Terrace, and near the Nisga'a Villages of Gitlakdamix and Gitwinksihlkw. The park was established by Order in Council on April 29, 1992, expanded in 1995, included in the Nisga'a Treaty in 2000, and is the first park in the province to be jointly managed by the government and a First Nation. An interpretive centre in a traditional Nisga'a longhouse informs visitors about the Nisga'a legend that accounts for the lava as well as geological causes. The park has waterfalls, pools, cinder cones, tree moulds, lava tubes, spatter cones, a lava-dammed lake, caves and other features created by lava flows. The parks aims to protect moose, goats, marmots, bears and many other species of wildlife. The park covers 178.93 square kilometres in area. It is believed to be the site of Canada's most recent volcanic eruption and lava flow, a geological disaster that killed an estimated 2,000 people. Nisga'a oral histories record the names of two villages destroyed in the eruption, Wii Lax K'abit and Lax Ksiluux. The source of the eruption was the Tseax Cone. Large lava flows dammed the Nass River and destroyed two villages of the Nisga'a people around the years 1750 or 1775. Lava beds rise as much as 12 metres above the modern road.

Stop 3: Crater Creek Trail

For more information CLICK HERE to visit Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park's page on BC Park's Website

Stop 5: Beaupre Falls Trail

Stop 11: Tree Mould

Stop 5: Beaupre Falls

Stop 12: Canyon Creek Suspension Bridge

Stop 4: Tseax River

One of the Park Entrances