The Kechika flows generally northwest through the northernmost section of the Rocky Mountain Trench before turning east to join the Liard, a major branch of the Mackenzie River system.

The river's 22,700 km2 (8,800 sq mi) drainage basin is characterized by high glaciated peaks, boreal forest, and open tundra.

With no settlements, roads or dams along its course, the Kechika is considered "one of British Columbia's finest examples of wilderness and undisturbed wildlife habitat.

"[5] Inhabited for thousands of years by the Kaska Dena, the Kechika was explored by fur traders in the 1800s and was one of the routes to gold strikes in the Yukon.

The Kechika River begins more than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level in the Sifton Ranges about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Mount Slocomb.

[12] In the 19th century, the Sekani people were displaced west into the Rocky Mountain Trench as a result of First Nation territorial changes during the fur trade.

[5] Minerals documented in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area include "copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gold, tungsten, chalcopyrite, pyrite, dolomite, quartz crystals, malachite, aragonite, mica and azurite.

Moodie of the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) explored the Kechika valley as a potential route for prospectors traveling from Edmonton, Alberta.

[11] Moodie's route followed the Peace River to Fort Ware (Kwadacha) and then followed the old Davie Trail through the Kechika valley up towards the Yukon.

[17] In 1939, John Ogilvie "Skook" Davidson, a northern BC packer and guide, settled in the Kechika River valley and established Diamond J Ranch.

[22] Almost the entire Kechika River basin is within the western part of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (M-KMA), which includes four of fourteen biogeoclimatic zones in British Columbia.

[23] The Alpine Tundra zone, consisting mainly of shrubs, grasses mosses and lichens, occupies elevations higher than 1,400 metres (4,600 ft).

[25] Dune Za Keyih Provincial Park and Protected Area, which encompasses 3,468 square kilometres (1,339 sq mi) of the Kechika River basin, was first proposed in the 1970s[19] but was not formally established until 2001.

[22] Recreational activities along the river include hunting, hiking, horseback riding, boating, wildlife viewing, fishing, and caving.

Backcountry survival skills are essential for travel in the Kechika River country, as there are no developed trails, campsites or settlements.