Bell-Irving River

The Bell-Irving River is a tributary of the Nass River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Sacred Headwaters region, and flows about 165 km (103 mi) south to the Nass River. It course lies between the Oweegee Range of the Skeena Mountains to the east and the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains to the west. The Bell-Irving River's watershed is within the traditional territory of several First Nations and there have been conflicting claims. The main peoples whose histories involve the Bell-Irving River are the Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan), Gitanyow, Nisga'a, Tahltan, and Tsetsaut.

The river's name honors Canadian Army Lieutenant Duncan Peter Bell-Irving, BCLS, of Vancouver. Before World War I Bell-Irving was exploring and surveying the upper Nass River system. When war broke out he enlisted and served with the 2nd Field Company, Canadian Engineers. On February 25, 1915, in Belgium, he was shot and killed by a sniper. There are various indigenous names for the Bell-Irving River. The Gitxsan name is Sto'ot Xsitxemsem. The Tahltan have been known to call the Bell-Irving River the West Nass River.

The Bell-Irving River originates in the Klappan Range and an area known as the Sacred Headwaters, which gives rise to not just the Bell-Irving, but also the Nass, Skeena, and Stikine Rivers, as well as numerous tributary streams such as the Klappan River, Tumeka Creek, and Sweeney Creek, tributaries of the Klappan River; and the Ningunsaw River, a tributary of the Iskut River. The source of the Unuk River is just southwest of the Sacred Headwaters area, rising near the source of Treaty Creek, a tributary of the Bell-Irving River. North of the Bell-Irving River lies the watersheds of the Stikine River and its largest tributary, the Iskut River. To the west of the Bell-Irving are the Coast Mountains and the headwaters of the Unuk River, which flows southwest to the sea near Ketchikan, Alaska, and the Bear River, which flows south to the head of Portland Canal at the community of Stewart, British Columbia. From its source the Bell-Irving River flows generally south through mostly mountainous terrain. It is joined by Craven Creek, then Rochester

Flows through: Canada.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.