Kwadacha Fort Ware | |
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 View of Kwadacha from above looking Southeast | |
  Kwadacha Kwadacha (Canada) Show map of Canada Kwadacha Kwadacha (North America) Show map of North America | |
| Coordinates:57°25′15″N125°37′20″W / 57.42083°N 125.62222°W /57.42083; -125.62222 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Population | |
• Total | 350 |
| Area codes | 250,778 |
Kwadacha, also known asFort Ware or simplyWare,[1] is an aboriginal community in northernBritish Columbia, Canada, located in theRocky Mountain Trench at the confluence of theFinlay,Kwadacha and Fox Rivers, in theRocky Mountain Trench upstream from the end of the Finlay Reach (north arm) ofWilliston Lake. The population is about 350.[2] It is in the federal electoral riding ofPrince George-Peace River.
The community is home toKwadacha First Nation, aSekani First Nation but a member of theKaska Dena tribal council.
The area is part of the traditional territory of theSekani-speaking people, the Kwadacha, and calledTahche in their language.[3]
In 1927, theHudson's Bay Company (HBC) established an outpost ofFort Grahame, naming it the Whitewater trading post. It was first built inDeserters Canyon farther along Finlay River, but was later relocated near the meeting of Fox, Kwadacha and Finlay Rivers. It became a "full-fledged" post in 1929.[3] The fort introduced the local Kwadacha people to its wares as well as commercial trapping, still a mainstay of life in the region and for theKwadacha First Nation. .
In 1938, the fort was renamed Fort Ware after William Ware (1872-1957).[3] Ware had worked for HBC since 1895, rising fromChief Factor company store atTelegraph Creek in 1911 to the District Manager of Fur Trade (1927-1932).[4] William reportedly portaged across Canada to set up Telegraph Creek Trading Post, meeting and hunting withLouis Riel along the way.[4]
The HBC post was closed on 31 May 1953.[3]
The community of Fort Ware was relocated from its original location due to the flooding of the lower Finlay Valley by Lake Williston in the late 1960s.
Some current inhabitants of Fort Ware are relocatees (and their descendants) who formerly lived at locations (such as Finlay Forks, located at the confluence of theFinlay andParsnip Rivers). Before theBennett Dam was completed on thePeace River in 1967, the combined flow of the Finlay and Parsnip were the beginning of the Peace River, but which itself is now the Peace Arm ofLake Williston. Finlay Forks was one of several native communities that were flooded out during the creation of Lake Williston (British Columbia's largest lake and one of the world's largest man-made lakes).
No provincial highways reach the community, but a logging road extends north from thePrince George region. A 70 km logging road connects the community with theTsay Keh Dene village, whose people are closely related. Additionally there are a series of horse trails following the rocky mountain trench north, ending at theAlaska highway. These trails are not accessible by vehicle and thus is said to take around two weeks to traverse.
A bridge has been completed across the river that lies on the south side of the village.
The community has a small public airport known asFort Ware Airport.[5]
Telephone service was installed in the community byNorthwestel in early 1986, connected by satellite to the long-distance network. Dial-up internet was provisioned circa 2005. There is no cellular service. Most air service and call traffic is exchanged southward to Mackenzie and Prince George.
The mountains which flank the western side of theTrench northwest from Fort Ware are theOmineca Mountains, vast subgroup of theStikine Ranges. The nearbyMuskwa-Kechika Management Area andKwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park comprise a vast and rugged alpine region spanning the northern Rockies to the north and east of Fort Ware, which are for the most part even more inaccessible than Fort Ware, as are the Omineca Ranges.
| Climate data for Kwadacha (Fort Ware), elevation 777 m (2,549 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 11.1 (52.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 27.8 (82.0) | 33.3 (91.9) | 30.0 (86.0) | 31.0 (87.8) | 27.2 (81.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 10.6 (51.1) | 2.8 (37.0) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −15.2 (4.6) | −6.4 (20.5) | 1.0 (33.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 14.7 (58.5) | 19.4 (66.9) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.1 (68.2) | 14.3 (57.7) | 6.0 (42.8) | −4.8 (23.4) | −11.3 (11.7) | 5.6 (42.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −19.9 (−3.8) | −12.1 (10.2) | −6.0 (21.2) | 1.3 (34.3) | 6.7 (44.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 12.8 (55.0) | 7.8 (46.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | −8.4 (16.9) | −15.2 (4.6) | −0.6 (31.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −24.4 (−11.9) | −17.8 (0.0) | −13.0 (8.6) | −5.3 (22.5) | −1.4 (29.5) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 1.2 (34.2) | −3.7 (25.3) | −12.0 (10.4) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −6.7 (20.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −48.3 (−54.9) | −44.0 (−47.2) | −39.5 (−39.1) | −20.6 (−5.1) | −8.3 (17.1) | −4.4 (24.1) | −6.1 (21.0) | −3.5 (25.7) | −10.0 (14.0) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −35.6 (−32.1) | −45.6 (−50.1) | −48.3 (−54.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49.7 (1.96) | 38.1 (1.50) | 18.0 (0.71) | 14.7 (0.58) | 32.9 (1.30) | 44.3 (1.74) | 68.8 (2.71) | 48.5 (1.91) | 43.2 (1.70) | 27.9 (1.10) | 46.8 (1.84) | 60.3 (2.37) | 493.2 (19.42) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 42.1 (16.6) | 30.3 (11.9) | 13.7 (5.4) | 6.9 (2.7) | 0.1 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.2 (0.5) | 9.2 (3.6) | 36.0 (14.2) | 47.0 (18.5) | 186.5 (73.4) |
| Average precipitation days | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 110 |
| Average snowy days | 9 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 47 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada[6][7] | |||||||||||||
