Misplaced Pages

#742257

24-666: All of its Canadian portion, except its northeasternmost area around Yarrow , which is part of today's City of Chilliwack , was formerly the District of Sumas , which was amalgamated into the District of Abbotsford in 1972. Since the draining of the lake, Sumas Prairie has periodically flooded during major spring freshets of the Fraser River , occurring in 1894, 1948, 1972, and 2007. The prairie has also flooded due to extreme rainfall events, occurring in November 1990 and November 2021. During

48-452: A 31-unit multigenerational cohousing community (later increased to 33 units), and a mixed-use development with just under 2800 m (30,000 sf) of commercial space, a 17-unit senior cohousing community and a learning centre. Chilliwack City Council approved the plans, granting "Ecovillage zoning" in 2006. In January 2015, the Ecovillage had 100 residents (one third of whom were children) in

72-453: A breeding ground for both fish and waterfowl . Flocks of white-fronted goose as well as whistling swan and Hutchins geese also used the lake. Its partially sandy banks also provided for sturgeon spawning grounds. The lake supplied food to the Sumas Band, and their life ways were intimately connected to it. In the late 1800s, the lake drew the attention of various naturalists within

96-686: A low-lying flatland known as the Sumas Prairie , which is nowadays drained by the Saar Creek (a lower tributary of the Sumas River) and the namesaked Sumas Drainage Canal . The traditional territory of the Semá:th people ( Sumas First Nation ), a band of the Sto:lo Nation , the lake lay midway between the present-day Canadian cities of Chilliwack and Abbotsford , British Columbia , and extended past

120-580: A plan to drain the lake in the early 1920s. By 1924 the Chilliwack River had been diverted west into the newly formed Vedder Canal . The lake was then drained through the Sumas Drainage Canal and into the Fraser River around the northeastern tip of the Sumas Mountain. The multi-year project, entailing massive cost overruns on the building of drainage works, effectively turned Sumas Lake into

144-613: Is a small community located 90 kilometres east of Vancouver within the City of Chilliwack in British Columbia , Canada. It is in the Fraser Valley at the foot of Vedder Mountain . The village was first settled by Mennonites in the late 1920s, following the draining of Sumas Lake and the reclamation of the former lake bed for agriculture. Yarrow is at the foot of the Skagit Range of

168-521: Is an intentional community in Yarrow, British Columbia, Canada . Yarrow is a settlement of 3,000 population within the municipal boundaries of Chilliwack , British Columbia . The Ecovillage is a member-designed community that aims to achieve a more socially, ecologically and economically sustainable way of life. The Ecovillage's master plan for the 10-hectare (25-acre) former dairy farm, foresaw three main legal entities: An 8-hectare (20-acre) organic farm ,

192-622: The 2021 British Columbia and Washington floods , the Sumas Prairie flooded, forcing evacuation of 1100 homes. Floodwaters came from the Nooksack River in neighboring Washington State , which usually flows towards Bellingham Bay . On November 19, 2021, Abbotsford mayor Henry Braun announced that the Canadian Army would build a levee to replace a broken dike and prevent the Sumas Prairie from further flooding. He said that this would lead to

216-474: The Canada–United States border into the territory east of Sumas , Whatcom County , Washington , necessitating a British Columbia Electric Railway trestle (which remains today as a dyke ) across it from Huntingdon to the foot of Vedder Mountain. The lake used to support sturgeon , trout , salmon , grizzly bears and geese , and its wetland habitat was a destination for migrating birds and

240-683: The Cascade Mountains on the Vedder River , near the latter's confluence with the Fraser , which traverses the Lower Mainland , of British Columbia. The Lower Mainland Ecoregion is part of the Pacific Maritime Ecozone . The village of Yarrow lies between Vedder Mountain to the south and Sumas Mountain to the northwest. The climate is temperate with most of the precipitation falling in

264-613: The Fraser River , along with November 1990 and November 2021 due to extreme rainfall. In 2019, the city of Abbotsford received federal funding to study flooding of the former Sumas Lake area related to overflow from the Nooksack River . The report found that although a one in 35-year flood such as that of 1990 could be contained, a larger one that breached dikes had the potential to refill Sumas Lake and leave parts of Sumas Prairie under more than three metres of water, submerging homes, destroying property, killing livestock, and thereby compromising food security for those who depend upon

SECTION 10

#1732837665743

288-475: The Soviet Union , began buying lots of this land from Eckert. They created a Mennonite community that flourished from the late 1920s until the early 1960s. As many Mennonites began to assimilate into mainstream Canadian culture, they moved away from the rural village of Yarrow, and subsequent settlers were of many different ethnic backgrounds. Today, Yarrow functions mainly as a semi-rural suburb of Chilliwack. On

312-417: The Sumas Prairie . Farm lands recovered from the lake were not as good as claimed, and sold for less than anticipated. Dairy farming, and another already established crop, hops, continued to be important to profitability, while other crops such as grains did not take hold as anticipated. Having been sold off to settlers in the 1930s for $ 60–120 an acre,

336-568: The 1860s, Vedder and his sons Adam and Albert amassed a total of 960 acres. With a further Crown grant in 1878, the Vedder Lands eventually totalled 1,200 acres. In 1910, the British Columbia Electric Railway constructed a line from Vancouver to nearby Chilliwack that skirted the edge of Sumas Lake . One of the stations along this line was named Yarrow. The townsite was built on land reclaimed, in part, from Sumas Lake . In

360-468: The early 1920s, the provincial government built dykes to channel the Vedder River through the Vedder Canal to the Fraser River . This dyking project, which was completed in 1924, opened 12,000 acres (49 km²) of land for agriculture to the west of Yarrow. By 1928, much of the land was owned by Chauncey Eckert . That same year, a group of ethnic Dutch-German Mennonites , who had fled persecution in

384-566: The first weekend of June, residents of Yarrow celebrate their community with Yarrow Days. Festivities begin at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, with a parade down Yarrow Central Road that starts at the Yarrow Community School on Wilson Road and ends at the Yarrow Mennonite Brethren church. Booths located in the park display local crafts, clothes, and homemade food. Particularly popular are the bake-sales and barbecues by members of

408-463: The flooding of about a dozen homes, but this was the only available option to prevent even more flooding. 49°03′00″N 122°08′00″W  /  49.05000°N 122.13333°W  / 49.05000; -122.13333 This article about a location on the South Coast of British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Yarrow, British Columbia Yarrow

432-478: The former lakebed has since been transformed into highly successful agricultural, residential and commercial zones. As of 2013 the area of the former lake was the subject of a specific land claim by Sumas First Nation. In addition to flooding recorded in the region prior to the draining of the lake, significant flood events in the area of the former Sumas Lake have occurred on numerous occasions, notably in 1894, 1948, 1972 and 2007 due to major spring freshets of

456-606: The growing European population engaged in the work of cataloging the flora and fauna that they encountered where they settled. Early farmyards in the vicinity of Sumas Lake were laid out as "dry-point" farms on narrow ridges formed by old lake shorelines to escape periodic flooding of adjacent lowlands. Similarly, the BC Electric Railway route skirted the south shore of the lake. After the devastating 1894 Fraser basin flood, and in order to create more fertile farmland for settlers, BC Electric engineer Fred Sinclair formed

480-455: The local churches, offering ethnic and traditional wares. Performers provide entertainment as residents and visitors make new friends and renew acquaintances. Local merchants offer specials in the nearby shops. Events include a barbecue and dance at the Community Hall on Saturday night and a pancake breakfast at the hall and church service in the park on Sunday morning. The Yarrow Ecovillage

504-565: The multigenerational cohousing community ("Groundswell Cohousing"). The organic farm has been in operation since 2003. In January 2014, Groundswell Cohousing at the Yarrow Ecovillage was awarded the "Sustainability Leadership Award" by the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce at the 19th Annual Business Excellence Awards. Sumas Lake Sumas Lake ( Halq’eméyle : Semá:th Lake , Nooksack : Semáts Xácho7 , (Level Place Lake) )

SECTION 20

#1732837665743

528-681: The region for agriculture . In November 2021, during the 2021 Pacific Northwest floods , this did occur. The overflow from the Nooksack River and the Fraser River filled Sumas Lake, flooding segments of British Columbia Highway 1 and forcing the evacuation of 1100 homes, along with farms and farm workers in Abbotsford. Following the long history of repeated flooding and the particular calamity of Fall 2021, there has been discussion including among experts about appropriate ongoing management of

552-505: The winter months as rain. The summer is warm and relatively dry. The fertile upper Fraser Valley supports the growth of many varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs. Yarrow's economy is thus primarily agricultural and includes dairy farms, poultry production and field crops ( cole crops blueberries , corn and hay ). The property that was to later become the village of Yarrow was first owned by Volkert Vedder , who pre-empted, or alienated, it from Crown land , beginning in 1862. During

576-466: Was a shallow freshwater lake surrounded by extensive wetlands that once existed in eastern Fraser Lowland , located on the south side of the Sumas River between the foothills of Sumas Mountain (not to be confused with the same-named American mountain ) and Vedder Mountain . It disappeared after being artificially drained for flood control and land reclamation from 1920 to 1924, leaving behind

#742257