The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the Omineca Gold Rush when steamboat services ran from the sea to Hazelton, which was the jumping-off point for the trails to the goldfields. The river and its basin sustain a wide variety of fish, wildlife, vegetation and communities native to the area depend on the health of the river.