Dikes in
the Creston Valley
Written by Nick, Tanisha, Peter, Jesse and Mrs.
Brucker
Read this article, written by Grade 4
students,
and then try the Interactive Quiz, created by Grade 5 students.
When you have finished the
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Museum staff and volunteers (Tammy Hardwick, Jason
Smith, Jessica and Lisa) visited with Erickson Grades Four and Five
students. They told us about the flooding of the Kootenay River flats
and why the dikes were built to provide farming land for the pioneers. |
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The valley's marsh flats before
diking.
Historical Photos Courtesy Creston &
District Museum Archives. |
Thousands of years ago, the Kootenay River was narrower and faster.
The flats did not exist and the river channel extended all the way
back to Bonner’s Ferry. Over the centuries, the river eroded the banks
and carried silt down river. Gradually the flats were created from
this silt and rocks, which were dumped into the valley. The Kootenay
flood plain was built up from Bonner’s Ferry to Duck Lake. |
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Pioneers moved to Creston and hoped that Creston would become the
food-marketing center of the Kootenays. They settled on the Creston
flats because of the fertile soil and the lack of trees there. The
disadvantage of this plan was that there were yearly spring floods (up
to 15 feet). This turned the flats into a lake and made it difficult
for the people to live there and to grow crops of vegetables and
grains. |
There were three
possible plans to control the river flooding: to make dams, to move
the river or to dike the valley. Engineers chose to build a dike
system around the flats. |
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In the 1890’s a series of
low dikes were built. A primitive type of steam shovel was used along
with wheelbarrows and hand shovels. One of the problems with these
early dikes was the amount of sticks and rotting logs and swampy soil
that was used. As the sticks rotted leaks sprung up and eroded the
dikes. They lost the dike system twice through flooding. |
Dredging - 1893 |
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The 1948 flood |
They improved the dike
system in the 1930’s. This was made possible by improved engineering
techniques and machinery. Before they built the dikes they scraped
the surface smooth. They piled the dirt higher this time. They made
sure there were no sticks and rotting logs this time. It still leaked
and in 1948 and the valley was flooded once again. Pumps were
installed to channel leaking water back into the river. They also
blasted rock out of the lake so that the water could drain faster.
The dikes were important
to the Creston Valley because farming boosted the economy and allowed
for the building of a strong, vibrant community. Farmers and fruit
growers needed workers and stores. These people then needed housing
and other commodities. |
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1948 - Trying to shore up the dikes |
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From 1967 to 1974 the
construction of the Libby Dam took place. This prevented flooding in
the high water years of 1972 and 1974.
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The Museum staff brought
in models of the flats. They had a river running through it and hills
and mountains around the edge of the model. The models were made of
play dough and then painted and varnished. |
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The class was split
into two groups. We made rolled pieces of plasticene and put it around
the edges of the river like dikes. |
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We poured water in it and
the model that had sticks and rocks in the plasticene flooded. This
represented the 1893 dike system. |
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The other model, which
had no sticks or rocks, was perfect and it showed us that the dikes
could keep the water back. We had fun doing this project. |
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We learned a lot
about early farming and building the dikes. |
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Do you think you've
learned anything about the the Creston Valley flats?
CLICK HERE
and try a quiz to check your learning.
When you have finished the quiz, use the browser
BACK
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