The Slocan Valley - Our Environment
Our environment is extremely important to us. It influences our lives, our work, our quality of life, and the people that come here. There are four sections in this page:
Our Geography
Our Weather
Our Water
Our Wild Animals
Our Forests
plus a note on respecting our environment.
Our Geography
“Geographically, The Slocan Valley is a slender, blue-gold arc of water, pastures, granite, and trees lying in the western shadow of the Selkirk Mountains, in the heart of the southern interior of British Columbia.
 It is not a particularly large valley – barely a hundred kilometres long, if one counts only the lake and river that it shelters, and five or so kilometres wide at its broadest plateau. The Valhalla Range of mountains forms the valley’s steep and forbidding western boundary. Its eastern boundary is shaped by the lesser slopes of the Slocan Range; smaller, but no less gentle.
The lake squeezes its narrow string bean shape from north to south between their granite flanks. Every so often, the mountains deign to cede to human settlement tiny deltas of flat land, fringed with maples and cottonwoods, at the mouths of creeks emptying into the lake…
The lake pours southward into the Slocan River at the point where the valley flattens itself out once again into a narrow plateau, barley a kilometre wide…it’s a gentle river for most of its length, chuckling quietly in a series of shallow loops to its union with the Kootenay River near Shoreacres”.
- Excerpt from Katherine Gordon’s book “The Slocan: Portrait of a Valley” (Sono Nis Press, 2004).
Like many other mountainous and resource rich areas of British Columbia, the Geography and the environment of the Slocan Valley have shaped our present and past.
 The Slocan Valley is part of the 400km long Kootenay Arc, a belt of sedimentary, volcanic and metamorphic rock. Its mountains, formed during the Jurassic Period some 200 million years ago are rich in silver-bearing galena. The quest for this Galena sparked the mining rush of the late 1800s, early 1900s.
As well, the harvesting of timber in the rich forests has been a mainstay of the valley economy. While the north end of the valley saw a mining boom, the south end was prime for settlement. First Nations recognised this and built camps and burial grounds in the south part of Vallican, and settling pioneers worked the fertile valley bottom.
Our Weather
Our slocanvalley.com homepage has up to date weather information and forecasts.
 The Slocan Valley has 4 distinct seasons, and a relatively moist climate - except in the summer where it can be very hot and dry.
About 950 mm (38”) of precipitation fall a year, the majority in late autumn and winter.
Temperatures vary with elevation and with proximity to Slocan Lake. New Denver and Silverton experience milder winters and cooler summers than elsewhere in the valley.
Average summer temperatures are between 20-25 C (68-77F) although days of 38C (over 100F) in July and August are not unheard of.
Winter temperatures average out at a pleasant -5C to 5C (12F to 41F), but can range from +5C to -25C (41 to -13F).
| Sun: |
Best months for sunny hot weather are July-September (300+ hrs per month) and only 63mm or 2” of rain. |
| Rain: |
Best months for rain are October-November and lesser so in June |
| Snow: |
Best months for big snow are December to February…averaging about 130cm or 51 inches per month in December and January. November, February and early March average about half of that. Most days from December through early March have a snow cover of 40cm ( about a foot and a half) or more – and that is at the lower levels. Check www.avalanche.ca for avalanche conditions before going out into the backcountry. |
| Wind: |
Not a particularly windy place, but watch for sudden winds on Slocan Lake and in the mountains. |
Our Water
 The Slocan Valley is known for its clear, cool mountain waters.
Water has been the centre of all significant milestones in the Valley’s history: from sustaining our First Nations; to transporting logs and train barges in the heydays of the logging and mining booms; to drawing new populations of ‘back to the landers’ and recreationists; to being the centre of struggles over watershed protection – water is an important resource here.
Please treat our watersheds with respect – we depend on them.
Our Wild Animals
The Slocan Valley is home to a variety of animals and birds.
 It is not uncommon for travellers to encounter the more usual fare such as black bears, mule and whitetail deer, grouse, wild turkey, scissor beaks, turkey vultures, cedar waxwings, great blue herons, woodpeckers of all sorts, and golden and bald eagles.
Deer and elk are a real concern for collisions with vehicles – especially at dusk, dawn and night. Slow down and keep your eyes alert.
Hikes into the backcountry can net you a glimpse of some signs of our more elusive creatures like grizzlies, cougars, mountain caribou, lynx, mountain goats, pikas, and marmots.
Bird watching is a popular activity here. A special day can be had in the wetlands at the south end Slocan Lake just where it dumps into the Slocan River. Pop a canoe in for a day and bring lots of film!
We can’t mention wild animals without mentioning bear awareness. Bears live in every part of our valley. They are a part of our community. Both blacks and grizzlies live here. If you are not familiar with living with bears, please read these excellent sites about bear awareness.
Bear Awareness BC http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/eeeb/info/bearaware/home/
Bear Smart www.bearsmart.com
Learn how to ‘bare proof’ your campsite and avoid bear encounters and what to do if you encounter a bear. Knowing how to live with bears will prevent the death of bears, or worse…an injury to you.
Our Forests
Like the water, forests sustain us. The forests of the Slocan Valley are quite diverse, with many species represented here such as cedar, hemlock, pine, spruce, subalpine fir, larch, birch, and cottonwood.
Giant cedars can still be seen in small islands in the Slocan River, and on the extremely accessible Retallack Cedar Trail, and on the Cedars trail in the Valhallas. Check out the Valley Directory under Outdoor Adventure for the more information about these hikes.
Like our water, our forests have been the centre of conflicts over their use. If you are interested in this subject, check out our links section for studies done in the valley, and our Valley Directory under Community Organisations/environment & nature
Forest fires are a real threat here during the summer. For more information on forest fires in the region and how to protect our forests, please check out the Ministry of Forests Protection Branch at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/protect/ for campfire bans, wildfire news and other forest protection information.
Respecting Our Environment
In the Slocan Valley we respect our environment and we expect the same of others. This means we:
- Leave only footprints and take only memories,
- Pack out what we take in, and pick up what others haven’t ,
- Minimize the impact of feet, tires and boat propellers,
- Stay on the trails below the tree line and minimise footprints on fragile alpine,
- As a general rule, never pick wildflowers. If you are interested in wild plants, there are many knowledgeable herbalists in the area that can take you on a nature walk, let you what is endangered and what is invasive, and some may even have some samples for you. Consult the Valley Directory under Agriculture & Gardening or Healing.
- Respect wild animals by not attracting them to human food & garbage; stay out of their feeding and breeding grounds at critical times of the year; inform ourselves about our wild friends; and take appropriate precautions so they don’t have to be destroyed because of our actions
- Dispose of human waste in the proper manner
- Minimise the use of motorised vehicles in the backcountry and stay on designated roads.
- Never litter and respect private property.
- Obey no-burn regulations and where and when fires are permitted, put campfires out fully before leaving.
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