Skeena City is an abandoned community on the north shore of the Skeena River at the mouth of the Khyex River, about 22 miles (35 km) south-southeast of Prince Rupert and 52 miles (84 km) southwest of Terrace, British Columbia. In 1908, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway purchased the townsite, and investors from Seattle and Vancouver built a large sawmill, hoping to sell the surrounding property. By 1910, the community also had a cannery and a brick factory. Today, remnants such as pilings, tunnels, bricks, and metal piping are scattered along the river shore.

The Khyex River flows through the Kitimat Ranges of the British Columbia Coast Mountains. Its valley is glacially carved, featuring steep sides and filled with glacial and post-glacial sediments. The river flows south, joining the Skeena River at tidewater, with tidal effects extending approximately 7 miles (12 km) up the Khyex Valley. The Khyex River watershed lies within a protected area in the traditional territories of the Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla Nations. Established in 2008, the Khyex Conservancy spans 200 square miles (41,404 ha) of old-growth forests.

On November 28, 2003, a rapid landslide occurred on the Khyex River, approximately 4 miles (6.8 km) upstream from its confluence with the Skeena River. This event displaced a massive volume of soil and clay, blocking the river and causing upstream flooding for 6.2 miles (10 km). The landslide severed 1,150 feet (350 m) of the natural gas pipeline serving Port Edward and Prince Rupert. It covered an area of 0.12 square miles (32 ha) and displaced about 166 million cubic feet (4.7 million cubic meters) of material. Over the past four decades, five similar landslides have occurred in the region. Read more here and here. Explore more of Skeena City and Khyex River here: