Cariboo Mountains

Last updated
Cariboo Mountains
Cariboo Peaks.JPG
Peaks in the Premier Range
Highest point
PeakMount Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Elevation 3,516 m (11,535 ft)
Coordinates 52°48′05″N119°43′54″W / 52.80139°N 119.73167°W / 52.80139; -119.73167
Dimensions
Length245 km (152 mi)SE-NW
Width90 km (56 mi)SW-NE
Area7,700 km2 (3,000 sq mi)
Geography
BC-relief Cariboomtns.png
Location map of the Cariboo Mountains
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Range coordinates 52°55′N120°15′W / 52.917°N 120.250°W / 52.917; -120.250 Coordinates: 52°55′N120°15′W / 52.917°N 120.250°W / 52.917; -120.250
Parent range Columbia Mountains

The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, [1] [2] which run down into the Spokane area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is 7,700 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) in area and about 245 km in length (southeast–northwest) and about 90 km at its widest (southwest–northeast).

Contents

Physical geography

Braithwaite Icefield, largest in the Cariboo Mountains Braithwaite Icefield.jpg
Braithwaite Icefield, largest in the Cariboo Mountains

East of the range is the Rocky Mountain Trench, in this region largely the path of the upper Fraser River (including the section known as the Grand Canyon of the Fraser which is not to be confused with the better-known Fraser Canyon nearer Vancouver). To the west the range verges with the Cariboo Plateau through an intermediary "foothill" area known as the Quesnel Highland. Northwestwards the range drops to the Willow River area of the Nechako Plateau, which lies around Prince George. South of the range, northeast of Clearwater a plateau-like mountainous area between the range and the North Thompson River is part of the Shuswap Highland, which crosses the North Thompson and continues into the Shuswap Lake area.

N.B. Some classification systems assign the Cariboo Mountains to the Cariboo Plateau, which also includes the small Marble and Clear Ranges but it is so large and so mountainous a range, with peaks that rival the highest in the Selkirks, that it does not warrant the "plateau" designation.

The Cariboo Mountains subranges include the Palmer Range and the Mowdish Range.

Watersheds and rivers

Unlike the other three major subranges of the Columbia Mountains, the Cariboo Mountains have almost no contact with the Columbia River or its tributaries, but are entirely bounded by the Fraser and its tributary, the North Thompson River (there is a small exception in the Canoe River, which runs into the Rocky Mountain Trench from the eastern end of the range. The Canoe River is on the north side of Albreda Pass, which is the divide between the North Thompson and the Rocky Mountain Trench.

High peaks

The highest summits in the range are in a group known as the Premier Range whose peaks carry the names of eleven Canadian Prime Ministers, one British Prime Minister, and one Premier of British Columbia. The highest peak is Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier at 3,516 m (11,535 ft). The most recently added name to the group is that of Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Backcountry skiing in the Cariboo Mountains Skiing azure pass.JPG
Backcountry skiing in the Cariboo Mountains

The highest peak in the Cariboo Mountains outside the Premiers Range is Quanstrom Mountain 3,038 m (9,967 ft), which is the northernmost peak in the range over 3,000 m.

Sub-ranges

Protected lands and parks

Much of the Cariboo Mountains lie in Wells Gray Provincial Park, created in 1939 and currently the 4th largest in British Columbia. Another section is in Bowron Lake Provincial Park, a popular canoeing circuit east of the preserved gold rush town of Barkerville. Another park in the range is Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park, between Wells Gray and Bowron Lake.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purcell Mountains</span> Mountain range in British Columbia, Canada

The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mountain Trench in the area of the Columbia Valley, and on the east side of the valley of Kootenay Lake and the Duncan River. The only large settlements in the mountains are the Panorama Ski Resort and Kicking Horse Resort, adjacent to the Columbia Valley towns of Invermere and Golden, though there are small settlements, such as Yahk and Moyie along the Crowsnest Highway, and residential rural areas dependent on the cities of Creston, Kimberley and Cranbrook, which are located adjacent to the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monashee Mountains</span>

The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch 530 km (329 mi) from north to south and 150 km (93 mi) from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highest summit is Mount Monashee, which reaches 3,274 m (10,741 ft). The name is from the Scottish Gaelic monadh and sìth, meaning "moor" and "peace".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Mountains</span> Mountain range in Canada and the United States

The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km². The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenai River on the south; their western boundary is the edge of the Interior Plateau. Seventy-five percent of the range is located in Canada and the remaining twenty-five percent in the United States; American geographic classifications place the Columbia Mountains as part of the Rocky Mountains complex, but this designation does not apply in Canada. Mount Sir Sandford is the highest mountain in the range, reaching 3,519 metres (11,545 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowron Lake Provincial Park</span> Wilderness park in British Columbia, Canada

Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in northern British Columbia, Canada, roughly 117 km (73 mi) east of the city of Quesnel. Other nearby towns include Wells and the historic destination of Barkerville. Once a popular hunting and fishing destination, today the park is protected and known for its abundant wildlife, rugged glaciated mountains, and numerous freshwater lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of British Columbia</span> Overview of the geography of British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With an area of 944,735 km2 (364,764 sq mi) it is Canada's third-largest province. The province is almost four times the size of the United Kingdom and larger than every United States state except Alaska. It is bounded on the northwest by the U.S. state of Alaska, directly north by Yukon and the Northwest Territories, on the east by Alberta, and on the south by the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Formerly part of the British Empire, the southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty. The province is dominated by mountain ranges, among them the Canadian Rockies but dominantly the Coast Mountains, Cassiar Mountains, and the Columbia Mountains. Most of the population is concentrated on the Pacific coast, notably in the area of Vancouver, located on the southwestern tip of the mainland, which is known as the Lower Mainland. It is the most mountainous province of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interior Plateau</span> Region in Interior of British Columbia, Canada

The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of the Interior of British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west. The continuation of the plateau into the United States is known there as the Columbia Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camelsfoot Range</span> Sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges in British Columbia, Canada

The Camelsfoot Range is a sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. The Fraser River forms its eastern boundary. The range is approximately 90 km at its maximum length and less than 30 km wide at its widest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cariboo Plateau</span> Geographic feature in British Columbia, Canada

The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau is the Bonaparte River although some definitions include the Bonaparte Plateau between that river and the Thompson, but it properly is a subdivision of the Thompson Plateau. The portion of the Fraser Plateau west of the Fraser River is properly known as the Chilcotin Plateau but is often mistakenly considered to be part of the Cariboo Plateau, which is east of the Fraser.

The Bonaparte Plateau, in British Columbia, Canada, is a sub-plateau of the Thompson Plateau which extends to the Quesnel River and lies between the Cariboo Mountains on the east and the Fraser River on the west. The Thompson Plateau is itself a sub-plateau of the larger Fraser Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Cordillera</span> North American portion of the American Cordillera mountain chain

The North American Cordillera, sometimes also called the Western Cordillera of North America, the Western Cordillera or the Pacific Cordillera, is the North American portion of the American Cordillera, the mountain chain system (cordillera) along the western coast of the Americas. The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges, intermontane basins and plateaus in Western/Northwestern Canada, Western United States and Mexico, including much of the territory west of the Great Plains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secwépemc</span> First Nations people in Canada

The Secwépemc, known in English as the Shuswap people, are a First Nations people residing in the interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They speak one of the Salishan languages, known as Secwepemc or Shuswap.

The Nechako Plateau is the northernmost subdivision of the Interior Plateau, one of the main geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It spans the basin of the Nechako River and its tributaries the Stuart River and Endako Rivers, and is bounded on the south by the West Road River, south of which is the Chilcotin Plateau and on the north by the Nation River and the valleys of Babine and Takla Lakes, beyond which are the Omineca Mountains (N) and Skeena Mountains (NW). To the west, it abuts the various ranges of the Hazelton Mountains while on its east it is bounded by the pass between Prince George, British Columbia and the Parsnip Arm of Williston Lake, beyond which is the McGregor Plateau, which skirts the Northern Rockies. Some classification systems include the plateau area on the east bank of the Fraser River beyond the city of Prince George; this area neighbours the northernmost reaches of the Quesnel Highland and Cariboo Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hart Ranges</span> Subrange of the Northern Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, Canada

The Hart Ranges are a major subrange of the Canadian Rockies located in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. The mountains constitute the southernmost portion of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Interior</span> Interior region of British Columbia, Canada

The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior is generally defined to include the 14 regional districts that do not have coastline along the Pacific Ocean or Salish Sea, and are not part of the Lower Mainland. Other boundaries may exclude parts of or even entire regional districts, or expand the definition to include the regional districts of Fraser Valley, Squamish–Lillooet, and Kitimat–Stikine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quesnel Highland</span>

The Quesnel Highland is a geographic area in the Central Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As defined by BC government geographer in Landforms of British Columbia, an account and analysis of British Columbia geography that is often cited as authoritative, the Highland is a complex of upland hill and plateau areas forming and defined as being the buffer between the Cariboo Plateau and the Cariboo Mountains, as a sort of highland foothills along the eastern edge of the Interior Plateau running southeast from a certain point southeast of the city of Prince George to the Mahood Lake area at the southeast corner of the Cariboo. Beyond Mahood Lake lies another separately classified area dubbed by Holland the Shuswap Highland which spans similar terrain across the North Thompson and Shuswap Lake-Adams River drainage basins, forming a similar upland-area buffer between the Thompson Plateau and the Monashee Mountains. A third area, the Okanagan Highland, extends from the southern end of the Shuswap Highland in the area of Vernon and Enderby in the northern Okanagan region into Washington State, and also abuts the Monashee Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuswap Highland</span>

The Shuswap Highland is a plateau-like hilly area of 14,511 km2 (5,603 sq mi) in British Columbia, Canada. It spans the upland area between the Bonaparte and Thompson Plateaus from the area of Mahood Lake, at the southeast corner of the Cariboo Plateau, southeast towards the lower Shuswap River east of Vernon in the Okanagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robson Valley</span> Valley in British Columbia, Canada

The Robson Valley is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, comprising the section of the Rocky Mountain Trench that lies southeast of the city of Prince George following the Fraser River to the Yellowhead Pass. The name is derived from Mount Robson, which stands near the entrance to the Yellowhead Pass. Communities in the Robson Valley include the settlements of Dome Creek, Crescent Spur, Dunster, and Tête Jaune Cache, with larger population concentrations in the villages of McBride and Valemount. On a map, the Robson Valley is located immediately south of the elbow in the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia. Transportation corridors through the Robson Valley include the Canadian National Railway lines, and Highways 16 and 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thompson Country</span>

Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, more or less defined by the basin of the Thompson River. This is a tributary of the Fraser; the major city in the area is Kamloops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wells Gray Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres. It is British Columbia's fourth largest park, after Tatshenshini, Spatsizi and Tweedsmuir.

References

  1. Marsh, James H. (1999). "Cariboo Mountains". The Canadian Encyclopedia. McClelland & Stewart. p. 401. ISBN   978-0-7710-2099-5.
  2. "Cariboo Mountains". Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 2022-09-11.