Houston (British Columbia)

Houston is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the Bulkley Valley of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known as the "steelhead capital" and it has the world's largest fly fishing rod. Houston's tourism industry is largely based on eco-tourism and Steelhead Park, situated along Highway 16.HistoryThe Morice area was first charted by amateur historian, cartographer and geologist, Reverend Adrien-Gabriel Morice (1859-1938) known to Northern British Columbian locals as "Father Morice." In 1880, Morice came to British Columbia as a Catholic missionary to the native people and was one of the first 'white men' to see most of the area. Morice wrote, The History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia (formerly New Caledonia) . The Indigenous people were initially known as Carrier Indians, but today are more commonly referred to as the Wet'suwet'en and speak a language commonly referred to as Athapaskan. The Morice River was called "Wet-zuhn-kwa" by the Wet'suwet'en people because of the bluish-green color of the water.Wet-zuhn-kwa produced many species of fish such as trout, dolly varden, spring salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead salmon. The area is also rich in wildlife as it is not uncommon to spot moose, deer, black bear, grizzly bear, cougars and so on. Nanika River feeds Morice Lake and produces sockeye salmon. Morice River is a tributary of the Skeena River system, which is the second-largest system in BC that enters the Pacific Ocean at Prince Rupert, B.C.