Misplaced Pages

#257742

66-636: As a region and historical identity, the Cariboo is sometimes considered to extend to the Thompson River to the south of that, and to border on the city of Kamloops at its southeastern corner and even as far as Lytton , at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. The town of Lillooet is generally considered to be in the Cariboo, while the Bridge River Country to its west was sometimes referred to as

132-465: A cultural-historical sense – not the least because it is the location of the famous Cariboo goldfields and the one-time economic capital of the Interior of British Columbia, Barkerville . The Cariboo is commonly divided into North Cariboo, Central Cariboo and South Cariboo. The commercial centre of the north is Quesnel , of the central Williams Lake and of the south 100 Mile House . The Cariboo region

198-466: A mini-replica of the much larger rapid on the Fraser downstream from the mouth of the Thompson. About 17.4 kilometres (10.8 mi) upstream from the small town of Avola , the river is forced through a narrow chute only about 30 feet (9.1 m) wide creating a rapid that resembles the Fraser's famous rapid. At Kamloops, the combined Thompson River flows 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the confluence of

264-564: A navigable stream". His trip down the river convinced him that Fort Langley could not replace Fort Vancouver as the company's main depot on the Pacific coast. Much of British Columbia's history has been bound to the Fraser, partly because it was the essential route between the Interior and the Lower Coast after the loss of the lands south of the 49th Parallel with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It

330-650: A regional position within the Canadian Heraldic Authority is named after the river. The Fraser River is known for the fishing of white sturgeon , all five species of Pacific salmon ( chinook , coho , chum , pink , sockeye ), as well as steelhead trout . The Fraser River is also the largest producer of salmon in Canada. A typical white sturgeon catch can average about 500 pounds (230 kg). A white sturgeon weighing an estimated 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) and measuring 3.76 metres (12 ft 4 in)

396-689: A short dam lifespan, but mostly because of strong opposition from fisheries and other environmental concerns. In 1858, the Fraser River and surrounding areas were occupied when the gold rush came to the Fraser Canyon and the Fraser River. It is also a popular fishing location for residents of the Lower Mainland. The delta of the river, especially in the Boundary Bay area, is an important stopover location for migrating shorebirds . The Fraser Herald ,

462-442: A significant spring freshet , primarily impacting regions around Prince George , Kamloops , Hope and Surrey . Due to record snowpacks on the mountains in the Fraser River catch basin which began melting, combined with heavy rainfall, water levels on the Fraser River rose in 2007 to a level not reached since 1972. Low-lying land in areas upriver such as Prince George suffered minor flooding. Evacuation alerts were given for

528-656: Is a popular canoeing destination in the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. Wells Gray Park to its south is partly in the Cariboo. Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River , flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia , Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River . The river

594-739: Is fed by the Little River , which drains Shuswap Lake , which is fed by several rivers and creeks. The North Thompson originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Cariboo Mountains west of the community of Valemount and flows generally south towards Kamloops and the confluence with the South Thompson. For most of its length, the river is paralleled by Highway 5 , and the Canadian National Railway (both of which cross

660-601: Is generally considered to reach as far southeast as the city of Kamloops and to include the Cache Creek and Lillooet areas in the south. The region west of the Fraser River north of Lillooet, the Chilcotin , is often considered to be a part of the Cariboo; the country south of it immediately west of Lillooet is sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo. The Cariboo Plateau is made of Late Miocene flood basalt lavas of

726-472: Is home to several varieties of Pacific salmon and trout. The area's geological history was heavily influenced by glaciation, and the several large glacial lakes have filled the river valley over the last 12,000 years. Archaeological evidence shows human habitation in the watershed dating back at least 8,300 years. The Thompson was named by Fraser River explorer, Simon Fraser , in honour of his friend, Columbia Basin explorer David Thompson . Recreational use of

SECTION 10

#1732837871258

792-630: Is joined by the Bridge and Seton Rivers at the town of Lillooet , then by the Thompson River at Lytton , where it proceeds south until it is approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) north of the 49th parallel , which is Canada's border with the United States . From Lytton southwards it runs through a progressively deeper canyon between the Lillooet Ranges of the Coast Mountains on its west and

858-459: Is named Queensborough and is part of the City of New Westminster. Also in the lowermost Fraser, among other smaller islands, is Annacis Island , an important industrial and port area, which lies to the southeast of the eastern end of Lulu Island. Other notable islands in the lower Fraser are Barnston Island , Matsqui Island , Nicomen Island and Sea Bird Island . Other islands lie on the outer side of

924-572: Is now the Columbia River drainage. This flow direction was influenced by large ice buildups in the Thompson valley, which created extensive glacial lakes . Two large glacial lakes, Glacial Lake Thompson and Glacial Lake Deadman, occupied much of the modern river's course from 13,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. These deep, narrow, ribbon-shaped lakes held large volumes of water; Glacial Lake Thompson held nearly 84 cubic kilometres (20 cu mi) at its highest point. The lake stretched from Spences Bridge in

990-595: Is part of the Fraser Lowland and was formed also by sediment deposited from the Fraser, though most of the county is not in the Fraser drainage basin. Similar to the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland, Oregon , the Fraser exploits a topographic cleft between two mountain ranges separating a more continental climate (in this case, that of the British Columbia Interior ) from a milder climate near

1056-609: The Adams River , the Thompson has one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in the world. Pink salmon spawn mostly below Kamloops Lake, while coho spawning beds are found in 40 of the Thompson watershed's streams and rivers. Coastal rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus ), including an anadromous variety called steelhead, are found in the river along with a local strain the Kamloops rainbow trout which occurs in Kamloops Lake at

1122-690: The Cariboo region , eventually entering what is the modern-day Peace River drainage basin and ending up in the Arctic Ocean . This flow direction is estimated to have ended approximately 2 million years ago, as the Pleistocene era of heavy glaciation began. During the era of massive glaciers in the Thompson River valley, water from the area likely drained eastward, through the Shuswap Lake area into what

1188-464: The Cascade Range on its east. Hell's Gate , located immediately downstream of the town of Boston Bar , is a famous portion of the canyon where the walls narrow dramatically, forcing the entire volume of the river through a gap only 35 metres (115 feet) wide. An aerial tramway takes visitors out over the river. Hells Gate is visible from Trans-Canada Highway 1 about 2 km (1.2 mi) south of

1254-710: The Chilcotin Group , a group of related volcanic rocks that is nearly parallel with the Fraser Plateau . It extends along the adjacent Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in the Coast Mountains . Volcanism of the Cariboo Plateau is considered to be a result of extension of the crust behind the coastal Cascadia subduction zone . The Last Chance Lake and the Goodenough Lake beside it in the Bonaparte Plateau , as well as

1320-557: The Hudson's Bay Company 's main Pacific depot. Simpson had believed the Fraser River might be navigable throughout its length, even though Simon Fraser had described it as non-navigable. Simpson journeyed down the river and through the Fraser Canyon and afterwards wrote "I should consider the passage down, to be certain Death, in nine attempts out of Ten. I shall therefore no longer talk about it as

1386-579: The Lower Mainland ( Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver ) occurred in 1894. With no protection against the rising waters of the Fraser River, Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver communities from Chilliwack downstream were inundated with water. In the 1894 floods, the water mark at Mission reached 7.85 metres (25.75 ft). After the 1894 flood, a dyking system was constructed throughout the Fraser Valley. The dyking and drainage projects greatly improved

SECTION 20

#1732837871258

1452-526: The Mount Robson Provincial Park , to Steveston in Vancouver at the river mouth. With an average flow at the mouth of about 3,475 cubic metres per second (122,700 cu ft/s), the Fraser is the largest river by discharge flowing into the Pacific seaboard of Canada and the fifth largest in the country. The average flow is highly seasonal; summer discharge rates can be ten times larger than

1518-659: The North West Company from the site of present-day Prince George almost to the mouth of the river. The river's name in the Halqemeylem (Upriver Halkomelem) language is Sto:lo , often seen archaically as Staulo , and has been adopted by the Halkomelem-speaking peoples of the Lower Mainland as their collective name, Sto:lo . The river's name in the Dakelh language is Lhtakoh . The Tsilhqot'in name for

1584-664: The Rocky Mountain Trench and the Robson Valley near Valemount . After running northwest past 54° north, it makes a sharp turn to the south at Giscome Portage , meeting the Nechako River at the city of Prince George , then continues south, progressively cutting deeper into the Fraser Plateau to form the Fraser Canyon from roughly the confluence of the Chilcotin River , near the city of Williams Lake , southwards. It

1650-604: The Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 kilometres (854 mi), into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver . The river's annual discharge at its mouth is 112 cubic kilometres (27 cu mi) or 3,550 cubic metres per second (125,000 cu ft/s), and each year it discharges about 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean. The river is named after Simon Fraser , who led an expedition in 1808 on behalf of

1716-615: The Salish Sea , more than 250 kilometres (160 mi) away. From this point, the Thompson waters stopped flowing eastward into the Columbia River system, and the river became a tributary of the Fraser. Because of large deposits of glacial silt, sand, and gravel in the lower Thompson River valley, large landslides are common. The area downstream from the town of Ashcroft is prone to landslide events; eight major events between 1880 and 1982 have been recorded. Several of them have obstructed

1782-564: The San Juan Islands , gaining strength over the open water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca . The estuary at the river's mouth is a site of hemispheric importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network . The Water Survey of Canada currently operates 17 gauge stations that measure discharge and water level along the majority of the mainstem from Red Pass just downstream of Moose Lake in

1848-682: The 1970s, based out of Spences Bridge. Notable whitewater features on the lower river include the Frog, named for a frog-shaped rock formation, and the Jaws of Death, named by CPR engineers. Rapids on the river reach up to Class 5 on the International Scale of River Difficulty . Fraser River The Fraser River ( / ˈ f r eɪ z ər / ) is the longest river within British Columbia , Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in

1914-608: The British Columbia Fish Protection Act of 1997, the Thompson cannot be considered for future dam construction. Conservation of the Thompson's fisheries, especially its salmon population, has been a focus of provincial, federal, and international bodies, such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Pacific Salmon Commission . From the 1950s through the early 1990s the Thompson River

1980-771: The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway. From Ashcroft to Lytton, the river is completely confined within Thompson Canyon, making for spectacular scenery. The Thompson River joins the Fraser River in Lytton. There is a striking stretch of dark black cliffside just downstream from Ashcroft and visible from the Logan Lake-Ashcroft highway is officially named the Black Canyon. Just below

2046-577: The North Arm, which is the southern boundary of the City of Vancouver , and the South Arm, which divides the City of Richmond from the City of Delta to the south. Richmond is on the largest island in the Fraser, Lulu Island and also on Sea Island , which is the location of Vancouver International Airport , where the Middle Arm branches off to the south from the North Arm. The far eastern end of Lulu Island

Cariboo Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

2112-521: The North Thompson has been sparse, but artifacts near Bridge Lake to the west of the river have been dated to 3000 BCE, while pieces found near the tributary Clearwater River are possibly as old as 6000 to 7000 BCE. Explorer of the Fraser River and North West Company employee Simon Fraser named the river, after passing its mouth on the Fraser in 1808. He named the river after his colleague, David Thompson , who had mapped much of western Canada and

2178-515: The North and South Thompson Rivers before reaching Kamloops Lake , which is roughly 30 kilometres (19 mi) in length, ending at the town of Savona . From there it flows in a meandering course westwards through a broad valley area. At Ashcroft , the Thompson Canyon begins and the river turns southwestward to its confluence with the Fraser. The river is paralleled by the Trans-Canada Highway,

2244-517: The Probe Lake and the Deer Lake in the Cariboo Plateau, are soda lakes . Important events in the history of the Cariboo region: The Cariboo Trail is a 1950 film about the gold rush era of the 1890s in the area. The film is based on a story by John Rhodes Sturdy, screenplay by Frank Gruber, directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starring Randolph Scott and Gabby Hayes . Bowron Lake Provincial Park

2310-463: The Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada ( COSEWIC ), for Canada's Species At Risk Act (SARA) protections. The river is subject to catch and release angling only for steelhead and has severely restricted seasons to protect the wild stocks of remaining steelhead. The rapids of the lower Thompson are used for recreational whitewater rafting . The first commercial rafting operation on the river began in

2376-434: The Thompson River headwaters and other nearby lakes. Other fish species include round whitefish , largescale sucker , bridgelip sucker , northern pikeminnow , longnose dace , and slimy sculpin . Several bird species are found in Thompson River environments, including osprey , merganser , wood ducks , and American dippers . Golden eagles are found near the confluence with the Fraser, and Bald eagles congregate on

2442-522: The West Cariboo, as were also the ranches along the west side of the Fraser northwards towards the Gang Ranch . Broader meanings of "the Cariboo" sometimes include the Chilcotin , west of the Fraser. The geographic region known as the Quesnel Highland , which forms a mountainous series of foothills between the plateau proper and the Cariboo Mountains , is likewise considered to be part of the Cariboo in

2508-529: The coast. When an Arctic high-pressure area moves into the British Columbia Interior and a relatively low-pressure area builds over the general Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia region, the cold Arctic air accelerates southwest through the Fraser Canyon . These outflow winds can gust up to 97 to 129 kilometres per hour (60 to 80 mph) and have at times exceeded 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph). Such winds frequently reach Bellingham and

2574-735: The continental ice sheets of the last ice age . The ice moved out of the Thompson River region approximately 11,000 BCE, and migration by the ancestors of the Nlaka'pamux and Secwepemc people is thought to have occurred soon after. Some of the older archaeological sites on the lower Thompson include the Drynoch Slide site, near Spences Bridge, with artifacts dating to about 7350 BCE, and the Landels site, near Ashcroft, which dates to older than 8000 BCE. Archaeologists theorize early settlers lived in small groups, beginning with nomadic bands hunting ungulates on

2640-408: The estuary, most notably Westham Island , a wildfowl preserve, and Iona Island , the location of the main sewage plant for the City of Vancouver. After 100 kilometres (about 60 mi), the Fraser forms a delta where it empties into the Strait of Georgia between the mainland and Vancouver Island . The lands south of the City of Vancouver , including the cities of Richmond and Delta , sit on

2706-488: The fertile benches of the river, and a North West Company trading fort at the confluence of the North and South rivers became the city of Kamloops , now the largest human population center in the watershed. The Thompson River supports 24 fish species, including two considered endangered. It also hosts carp , which are not native to the watershed. The river is home to large populations of Pacific salmon , including coho , sockeye , pink and chinook . Through its tributary,

Cariboo Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

2772-413: The first Europeans to find and enter it. The existence of the river, but not its location, had been deduced during the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez , under Francisco de Eliza . The upper reaches of the Fraser River were first explored by Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793, and fully traced by Simon Fraser in 1808, who confirmed that it was not connected with the Columbia River . The lower Fraser

2838-460: The flat flood plain . The islands of the delta include Iona Island, Sea Island, Lulu Island, Annacis Island, and a number of smaller islands. While the vast majority of the river's drainage basin lies within British Columbia, a small portion in the drainage basin lies across the international border in Washington in the United States, namely the upper reaches of the tributary Chilliwack and Sumas rivers. Most of lowland Whatcom County, Washington

2904-464: The flood problems, but over time, the dykes were allowed to fall into disrepair and became overgrown with brush and trees. With some dykes constructed of a wooden frame, they gave way in 1948 in several locations, marking the second disastrous flood. Flooding since 1948 has been minor in comparison. 1948 saw massive flooding in Chilliwack and other areas along the Fraser River. The high-water mark at Mission rose to 7.5 metres (24.7 ft). The peak flow

2970-443: The flow during the winter. The Fraser's highest recorded flow, in June 1894, is estimated to have been 17,000 cubic metres per second (600,000 cu ft/s) at Hope . It was calculated using high-water marks near the hydrometric station at Hope and various statistical methods. In 1948 the Fraser River Board adopted the estimate for the 1894 flood. It remains the value specified by regulatory agencies for all flood control work on

3036-434: The plateaus around the river, who then established more permanent dwellings along the river benches as their fishing techniques developed. The South Thompson has the watershed's oldest dated evidence of human habitation, at the Gore site near Pritchard . The human remains date to 8250 BCE, and bone analysis suggests the person was a hunter with small amounts of his protein coming from salmon. Archaeological investigation in

3102-437: The poorly maintained dyke systems failed to contain the water. At the height of the 1948 flood, 200 square kilometres (50,000 acres) stood under water. Dykes broke at Agassiz, Chiliwack, Nicomen Island, Glen Valley and Matsqui. When the flood waters receded a month later, 16,000 people had been evacuated, with damages totaling $ 20 million, about $ 225 million in 2020 dollars. Major flooding occurred once again in 1972 due to

3168-401: The river a couple times). The North Thompson passes by several small communities, the most notable being Blue River , Clearwater & Barriere . The North Thompson picks up the Clearwater River at the town of Clearwater. The Clearwater, the North Thompson's largest tributary, drains much of Wells Gray Provincial Park . A notable feature along the North Thompson is Little Hells Gate ,

3234-408: The river are within provincial parks , including Steelhead , Juniper , Goldpan , and North Thompson Provincial Parks . Some of its tributaries, such as the Clearwater , are more protected through large parks like Wells Gray . However, unlike major river systems to the north and east like the Columbia and Nechako , the Thompson has no hydroelectric dams or major man-made water diversions. Under

3300-510: The river during the salmon run. Trumpeter swans use the South Thompson on their migratory route. Rattlesnakes are found in the dry sagebrush regions of the lower river. Aquatic insects found in the river system are dominated by three groups: mayflies , midges , and caddisflies . Many of these species emerge with the spring snowmelt, which greatly increases the volume of flow on the river. The Thompson River and its two branches are mostly unprotected through parks or reserves. Small sections of

3366-410: The river includes whitewater rafting and angling. The South Thompson originates at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake at the town of Chase and flows approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) southwest through a wide valley to Kamloops where it joins the North Thompson. Highway 1 , the Trans-Canada Highway and the mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway parallel the river. Little Shuswap Lake

SECTION 50

#1732837871258

3432-476: The river was designated as a Canadian Heritage River for its natural and human heritage. It remains the longest river with that designation. The Fraser is heavily exploited by human activities, especially in its lower reaches. Its banks are rich farmland, its water is used by pulp mills , and a few dams on some tributaries provide hydroelectric power . The main flow of the Fraser has never been dammed partly because its high level of sediment flows would result in

3498-405: The river, and caused large, temporary lakes. An 1880 slide caused the formation of a short-lived lake over 14 kilometers long with a maximum depth of 18 meters. These slides have caused major damage to the rail lines and farming operations in the river valley. Heavy irrigation has been blamed for some of the events. The Interior region of British Columbia was first populated after the retreat of

3564-411: The river, not dissimilar to the Dakelh name, is ʔElhdaqox , meaning Sturgeon ( ʔElhda-chugh ) River ( Yeqox ) . The Fraser drains a 220,000-square-kilometre (85,000 sq mi) area. Its source is a dripping spring at Fraser Pass in the Canadian Rocky Mountains near the border with Alberta . The river then flows north to the Yellowhead Highway and west past Mount Robson to

3630-404: The river. Further studies and hydraulic models have estimated the maximum discharge of the Fraser River, at Hope during the 1894 flood, as within a range of about 16,000 to 18,000 cubic metres per second (570,000 to 640,000 cu ft/s). On June 14, 1792, the Spanish explorers Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés entered and anchored in the North Arm of the Fraser River, becoming

3696-427: The town of Spences Bridge was the site of a major rail disaster in the early 20th century. Communities along this section are Bighorn , Shaw Springs, and Goldpan. The Thompson River valley has existed in some form for at least 50 million years; however, for much of its history, it did not drain to the southwest into the Pacific Ocean as it does today. Geologists believe water from the river flowed northward, through

3762-655: The tramway. Simon Fraser was forced to portage the gorge on his trip through the canyon in June 1808. At Yale , at the head of navigation on the river, the canyon opens up and the river widens, though without much adjoining lowland until Hope , where the river then turns west and southwest into the Fraser Valley , a lush lowland valley, and runs past Chilliwack and the confluence of the Harrison and Sumas Rivers , bending northwest at Abbotsford and Mission . The Fraser then flows past Maple Ridge , Pitt Meadows , Port Coquitlam , and north Surrey . It turns southwest again just east of New Westminster , where it splits into

3828-429: The west to the eastern reaches of Shuswap Lake, as well as far up the northern reaches of the North Thompson river valley. The last large glacial lake, Lake Deadman, was drained by a catastrophic ice dam failure, called a jökulhlaup , in about 10,000 BCE. This event released as much as 20 cubic kilometres (4.8 cu mi) of water southwest into the Fraser River system, possibly depositing sediments as far away as

3894-414: Was 16 pounds (7.3 kg). By the late 1990s, steelhead populations began to decline due to a wide variety of adverse environmental conditions and overfishing by commercial and First Nations gill netters. In 2016, annual steelhead numbers entering the Thompson were estimated to be less than 400 fish. Low numbers have prompted conservation organizations and sportsman's associations to petition Committee on

3960-406: Was about 15,600 cubic meters per second. Cool temperatures in March, April, and early May had delayed the melting of the heavy snowpack that had accumulated over the winter season. Several days of hot weather and warm rains over the holiday weekend in late May hastened the thawing of the snowpack. Rivers and streams quickly swelled with spring runoff, reaching heights surpassed only in 1894. Finally,

4026-409: Was at the time exploring the Columbia River basin to the east. Thompson never visited the river that bears his name. The first documented traverse of the Thompson from Kamloops to Lytton was by Hudson's Bay Company governor George Simpson in 1828. More Europeans entered the Thompson River valley in the early to mid 1800s, drawn by the fur trade and small gold rushes . Others started farming on

SECTION 60

#1732837871258

4092-421: Was caught and released on the Fraser River in July 2012. In 2021, a white sturgeon was caught on the river weighing 890 pounds (400 kg), with a length of 352 cm (11.55 ft). It was estimated to be over 100 years old. The fish was tagged and released. The most significant Fraser river floods in recorded history occurred in 1894 and 1948. After European settlement, the first disastrous flood in

4158-428: Was considered one of the premier steelhead angling destinations in North America. The river hosted large runs of both summer and winter run anadromous coastal rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus ). In the late 1980s the runs were estimated at over 10,000 fish. The river attracted anglers from around the world seeking powerful Thompson River steelhead. In 1982, the average male winter run Thompson River steelhead

4224-411: Was revisited in 1824 when the Hudson's Bay Company sent a crew across Puget Sound from its Fort George southern post on the Columbia River . The expedition was led by James McMillan . The Fraser was reached via the Nicomekl River and the Salmon River reachable after a portage. Friendly tribes met earlier on by the Simon Fraser crew were reacquainted with. A trading post with agricultural potential

4290-421: Was the site of its first recorded settlements of Aboriginal people ( see Musqueam , Sto:lo , St'at'imc , Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamŭ ), the site of the first European-Indigenous mixed ancestry settlement in southern British-Columbia ( see Fort Langley ), the route of multitudes of prospectors during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the main vehicle of the province's early commerce and industry. In 1998,

4356-462: Was to be located. By 1827, a crew was sent back via the mouth of the Fraser to build and operate the original Fort Langley . McMillan also led the undertaking. The trading post original location would soon become the first ever mixed ancestry and agricultural settlement in southern British Columbia on the Fraser (Sto:lo) river. In 1828 George Simpson visited the river, mainly to examine Fort Langley and determine whether it would be suitable as

#257742