The Kemano River flows from the Kitimat Ranges to Kemano Bay on the northern shore of Gardner Canal, about 45 miles (72 km) south-southeast of Kitimat and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Kemano, British Columbia. Historically, this area was significant for its eulachon run and a village that existed before the construction of a supply terminal and access road for the Kemano generating station. The name “Kemano” originates from the Henaaksiala word for the small Macoma clam found at the river’s mouth. It also referred to a tribal subdivision of the Henaaksiala people who lived in a village there. In 1950, the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) mined bauxite in Jamaica and British Guiana (present-day Guyana), extracting aluminum oxide from the ore. Producing aluminum metal from this oxide required substantial power—almost 13,000 kilowatt-hours per metric ton. In 1950, Alcan was granted a water license by the province of British Columbia to manufacture aluminum and generate hydroelectric power. The following year, the company began constructing a powerhouse on the Kemano River, approximately 10 miles (16 km) upstream from Kemano Bay on Gardner Canal. A tunnel was also built, stretching 10 miles (16 km) eastward through the Coast Mountains from the powerhouse to Tahtsa Lake, the westernmost in a series of lakes draining eastward across the Nechako Plateau to the Fraser River. The Kemano-Tahtsa tunnel is located at the eastern border of the Coast Batholith, a belt of igneous intrusions beneath the Coast Mountains. In the development area, the Coast Mountains comprise Middle Jurassic igneous rocks of the Tahtsa complex, Early Jurassic volcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Hazelton group, Cretaceous sandstones and shales, and Jurassic granitic gneisses and massive igneous rocks of the Coast Batholith.

The Henaaksiala are a Wakashan-speaking people of Gardner Canal, particularly around the tributaries of the Kemano and Kitlope Rivers. They have close ethnolinguistic connections with the Haisla. The Haisla homeland encompasses the upper region of Douglas Channel, extending to the Kitimat River and its tributaries. Many ancient sites in these areas bear Henaaksiala or Haisla names, recognizing their cultural significance as landmarks. These include temporary encampments for resource gathering or processing, winter villages, ceremonial activity locations, legendary event sites, and notable natural formations. In 1874, the Hudson’s Bay Company steamer Otter visited Gardner Canal. Arthur T. Bushby documented the large Kemano village at the river’s mouth, where significant quantities of eulachon were caught, purified, and pressed to extract oil for food and trade. The villages on the Kitlope and Kemano Rivers served as the two principal winter villages of the Henaaksiala.

The inhabitants were probably more numerous than the Haisla at Kitamaat until about 1918 when an influenza outbreak that started at the end of World War I caused a large drop in population, and they moved en masse to Kitamaat between 1948 and 1952. The present-day Haisla are considered to represent an amalgamation of Henaaksiala and Haisla bands including the Bees, Kaasa, Kemano, Kitlope, Haisla, Nalabila, and Gildalidox. To the west of the Henaaksiala and Haisla territories lies the homeland of the Southern Tsimshian and immediately to the north, those of the Coast Tsimshian. The Salishan-speaking Nuxalk people, or Bella Coola, are located to the south, and to the east are the traditional territories of the Cheslatta T’En, who speak an Athapaskan language. The traditional lands of the Cheslatta T’En, or Cheslatta Carrier Nation, were mostly flooded by the impoundment of water behind the Kenney Dam on the Nechako River that formed the Nechako Reservoir. The dam was constructed in 1952 to power the Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat. Between 1951 and 1954, about 6,000 construction workers were involved in building a hydroelectric project and smelter, which included the Kenney Dam, diversion tunnels, powerhouse, transmission line, and townsites at Kemano and Kitimat. A company town was built on the Kemano River at the base of Mount Dubose to support the workers and maintain the Kemano Generating Station. With no road access to the Kemano River, everything had to be brought in by air or sea. Construction equipment and supplies were barged over Tahtsa Lake to the eastern end of the diversion tunnel. This tunnel, 9.9 miles (16 km) long and as wide as a two-lane highway, was drilled and blasted through the Coast Mountains to carry water to the powerhouse penstocks. The generating station is housed in a cavern 1,400 feet (427 meters) inside the base of Mount Dubose and produces 896 megawatts of power from eight generators, each with a capacity of 112 megawatts. When the power station was automated in 2000, the town was abandoned. Two 300-kilovolt power transmission lines cross 51 miles (82 km) of rugged mountain terrain from Kemano to Kitimat.

It was the largest hydroelectric power generator in the province when it was built, and is now the fifth-largest in British Columbia. Starting in the 1960s, Alcan was no longer producing energy solely for the Kitimat aluminum smelter. The company began selling the extra energy produced by the Kenney Dam to BC Hydro, a publicly owned electric power company. Because the BC Hydro grid is linked to the North American grid, Alcan began selling energy to Alberta and the United States.  In order to meet the energy demands in its new market, Alcan began diverting more water into its reservoir, resulting in lower water levels in the Nechako River and an increase in the water temperature. By 1980, water temperatures in the Nechako River had risen above what Fisheries and Oceans Canada considered to be safe for migrating and spawning salmon. In 2007, Rio Tinto purchased Alcan and began upgrading the smelter in Kitimat. In 2018, work began on a second tunnel that runs parallel to the first and will ensure long-term reliable electrical power for the Kitimat aluminum smelter and BC Hydro. A second tunnel will also permit repairs to be made to either tunnel while still supplying water for electricity, and is expected to be operational in 2022. When built, it was the largest hydroelectric power generator in the province and is now the fifth-largest in British Columbia. Starting in the 1960s, Alcan stopped producing energy solely for the Kitimat aluminum smelter. The company began selling surplus energy from the Kenney Dam to BC Hydro, a publicly owned electric power company. Because BC Hydro’s grid is linked to the North American grid, Alcan expanded its market to Alberta and the United States. To meet this new demand, Alcan diverted more water into its reservoir, lowering the Nechako River’s water levels and raising its temperature. By 1980, water temperatures exceeded the safe levels for migrating and spawning salmon, as defined by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In 2007, Rio Tinto purchased Alcan and began upgrading the Kitimat smelter. In 2018, work began on a second tunnel parallel to the first, ensuring reliable power for the Kitimat smelter and BC Hydro. This tunnel allows for repairs while maintaining electricity supply and wasoperational in 2022. Read more here and here. Explore more of Kemano River and Gardner Canal here: