| Mistik Creek | |
| Name Etymology: | "Tree" in Cree |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Manitoba |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Mistik Creek in Manitoba. |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Manitoba |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Northern Region |
| Length: | 44km (27miles) |
| Source1: | Naosap Lake |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 54.85°N -101.4139°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 330.4m (1,084feet) |
| Mouth: | Lake Athapapuskow |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 54.6256°N -101.5683°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 291m (955feet) |
| River System: | Nelson River drainage basin |
| Tributaries Left: | Vamp Creek |
| Tributaries Right: | Holt Lake |
The Mistik Creek is a stream in the Hudson Bay drainage basin in the Northern Region of Manitoba, Canada, approximately northeast of Bakers Narrows.
Mistik is a Cree word for 'Tree'.[1]
The remote creek flows through Churchill River Upland portion of the Midwestern Canadian Shield forests and is surrounded by mixed forest with stands of black spruce, white spruce, jack pine, and trembling aspen. The shoreline is characterized by steeply sloping irregular rock ridges and poorly drained areas of muskeg.[2]
Mistik Creek area is largely pristine and home to moose, black bear, lynx, wolf, and beaver. It is part of the range of the Naosap woodland caribou herd.[3] Bird species include raven, common loon, spruce grouse, bald eagle, and hawk owl. The creek is not easily accessible, but there is some trapping, hunting, and recreational fishing activity.[4]
The river begins in Naosap Lake, and the upper lakes lie in very irregular basins with low banks surrounded by muskeg and flows slowly. Downstream, the lakes become smaller and the river portions form continuous rapids. At Neso Lake, the creek passes by the Neso Lake Provincial Park and under Manitoba Highway 10, before emptying into Lake Athapapuskow via Payuk Lake's outflow Payuk Creek.
Mistik Creek notably includes fourteen lakes, named in numeric order in Cree.[5] In order from south to north, these lakes (including their English translation) are:[6]
The Mistik Creek Loop is a well-known remote wilderness canoe trip, in total length, which can be paddled in four to five days.[7] The route is characterized by many short, unmarked portages around small sets of rapids. It begins and ends at Bakers Narrows and relies on longer portages between Lake Athapapuskow, Alberts Lake, and Naosap Lake[8]