Description: Source Data: BC Freshwater Atlas (http://geobc.gov.bc.ca/base-mapping/atlas/fwa/).The Freshwater Atlas (FWA) is a standardized dataset for mapping the province's hydrological features. The atlas defines watershed boundaries by height of land and provides a connected network of streams, lakes and wetlands. Each stream in the province has its own watershed (the land drained by that stream) but it is also linked to the other streams and watersheds around it.* Source: BC Freshwater Atlas.Streams are less accurate that Calvert Island LiDAR based hydrology layers. Errors have been found and this information should only be used for general use and not research.Stream data has been dissolved to show only stream order (1-8). Dissolving is a method to downsize the size of the file to render faster for online mapping. Only the linear features and their associated stream order information remain within this dataset.Stream order 1 are the smallest streams and can me the most inaccurate for their location. The largest streams in the greater hakai study have a stream order of 8. Stream orders are based on the Strahler method – meaning that two streams of the same order must join in order to move to the next order up. Example two streams both with stream order 2 come together and form a stream order 3. While a stream order 2 and a stream order 1 joining would result in stream order 2 remaining. No edits were made to the dataset although some errors are observed new hydrology models are going to be available in February 2015 that are LiDAR based (for Calvert Island).
Service Item Id: d7d2749379dc453fa4ebe6da87ee135e
Copyright Text: BC Freshwater Atlas, Keith Holmes, Santiago Gonzalez Arriola, Hakai SPAR