| Artifact Creek | |
| Pushpin Map: | British Columbia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth of Artifact Creek |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | British Columbia |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Cassiar Land District |
| Length: | 13km (08miles) |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 1.62m3/s |
| Source1: | Near Kitsu Peak |
| Source1 Location: | Spectrum Range |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 57.4472°N -130.6867°W[1] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1875m (6,152feet) |
| Mouth: | Stewbomb Creek |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 57.4214°N -130.5311°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1140m (3,740feet) |
| Basin Size: | 42.5km2 |
| Custom Label: | Topo map |
Artifact Creek is a tributary of Stewbomb Creek and part of the Stikine River watershed in northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada.[2] It flows generally southeast for roughly 13km (08miles)[3] to join Stewbomb Creek, which flows into the Little Iskut River.In turn the Little Iskut River flows to the Iskut River, the largest tributary of the Stikine River.
Artifact Creek's watershed covers 42.5km2 and is entirely in Mount Edziza Provincial Park. The creek's mean annual discharge is estimated at 1.62m3/s.[4]
The mouth of Artifact Creek is located about 65km (40miles) southeast of Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, about 118km (73miles) south of Dease Lake, British Columbia, and about 250km (160miles) southeast of Juneau, Alaska.[3] Artifact Creek's watershed's land cover is classified as 51.4% barren, 15.3% shrubland, 14.5% herbaceous, 10.3% conifer forest, 8.2% snow/glacier, and small amounts of other cover.[4]
Artifact Creek is in Mount Edziza Provincial Park, which lies within the traditional territory of the Tahltan First Nation, of the Tahltan people.[5] [6]
The name of Artifact Creek and nearby Artifact Ridge and Obsidian Ridge comes from the abundant piles of stone chips left from the knapping of obsidian tools and points by early Tahltan hunters.
Artifact Creek originates near Kitsu Peak, about 30km (20miles) south of Mount Edziza. It flows east and southeast between Obsidian Ridge to the south and Artifact Ridge to the north. It collects various small unnamed tributary streams before emptying into Stewbomb Creek about 3km (02miles) upstream from Stewbomb's confluence with the Little Iskut River.[7] [8]
The north side of Artifact Creek is bounded by a 180m (590feet) sequence of lava flows belonging to the Armadillo Formation of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. A single 9m (30feet) ash flow deposit also belonging to the Armadillo Formation is exposed on the south side of Artifact Creek. Along the north side of Artifact Creek are two poorly exposed, low, northeasterly trending ridges of trachybasalt that may be intrusions linked to the Little Iskut conduit system.[9]