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Harrison Hot Springs | |
---|---|
Village of Harrison Hot Springs [1] | |
Location in British Columbia | |
Coordinates: 49°18′00″N121°46′55″W / 49.30000°N 121.78194°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Regional district | Fraser Valley |
Incorporated (village) | 1949 |
Named for | Benjamin Harrison, deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1835–1839 |
Area | |
• Land | 5.57 km2 (2.15 sq mi) |
Population (2019) | |
• Total | 1,632 |
• Density | 263.4/km2 (682/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
Postal Code | V0M 1K0 |
Area code | 604 / 778 / 236 |
Website | www |
Harrison Hot Springs is a village located at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent, which includes the town of Agassiz. As its name would suggest, it is a resort community known for its hot springs and has a population of just over 1,500 people. It is named after Benjamin Harrison, a former deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. [2]
The Village of Harrison Hot Springs began as a small resort community in 1886, when the opening of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought the lakeside springs within a short carriage ride of the transcontinental mainline. In its first promotion as a resort it was known as St. Alice's Well, although Europeans had discovered it decades earlier when a party of goldfield-bound travelers on Harrison Lake capsized into what they thought was their doom, only to discover the lake at that spot was not freezing, but warm. The springs had already been known to indigenous communities by then.
Although the resort flourished in a low-key fashion for years after this discovery was exploited by hoteliers, the Village of Harrison Hot Springs was not incorporated until 1949. Its namesake hot springs are a major attraction for tourists who come to stay at the village's spa resort.
The hot springs themselves were originally used and revered by the indigenous Sts'ailes (Chehalis) people who live along the Harrison River nearby and the Stʼatʼimc people living around the lake. There are two hot springs: the "Potash" with a temperature of 40 °C, and the "Sulphur" with a temperature of 65 °C. According to Harrison Hot Springs Resort, the waters average 1300 ppm of dissolved mineral solids, one of the highest concentrations of any mineral spring. This hot spring is one of several lining the valley of the Lillooet River and Harrison Lake. The northernmost of the Lillooet River hot springs is at Meager Creek, north of Whistler, with another well-known one to the east of Whistler at Skookumchuck Hot Springs, midway between Pemberton and Port Douglas. One feature of this chain of hot springs is that the Harrison Hot Springs vent is the most sulfuric, and there is consistently less sulfur content as one goes northwards, with the springs at Meager Creek having almost no scent at all.
Some geologists consider that an unstable rock face at Mount Breakenridge above the north end of the giant fresh-water fjord of Harrison Lake in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, could collapse into the lake, generating a large wave that might destroy the town of Harrison Hot Springs (located at its south end). [3]
2016 Canadian census [4] | ||
Harrison Hot Springs | British Columbia | |
Median age | 57.6 years | 43.0 years |
Under 15 years old | 9.9% | 14.9% |
Over 65 years old | 35.2% | 18.3% |
Protestant (2001) | 37% | 31% |
Catholic (2001) | 16% | 17% |
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Harrison Hot Springs had a population of 1,905 living in 885 of its 1,045 total private dwellings, a change of 29.8% from its 2016 population of 1,468. With a land area of 5.49 km2 (2.12 sq mi), it had a population density of 347.0/km2 (898.7/sq mi) in 2021. [6]
The population of Harrison Hot Springs grew from 1996 to 2006, when the Canadian Census reported 655 people in 1991, 898 in 1996, 1,343 in 2001, and 1,573 in 2006. [7] [8] [9] It has since receded slightly to 1,468 in 2011 and 2016. [4]
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Harrison Hot Springs included: [10]
Harrison Hot Springs' major economy is tourism in relation to the hot springs, with over half of employment found in the service industries, with much of the rest split between retail, government, construction and manufacturing, as well as minor activity in other areas. [11]
The hospitality industry employs a large majority of the jobs in Harrison Hot Springs, with much of the jobs coming from hotels and motels, and an growing economy stemming from the vacation rentals in the area.
Aside from its titular springs, Harrison Hot Springs also has the Ranger Station Public Art Gallery, a marina with jet boat tours of the lake available, a nine-hole golf course, and is the closest access point to Sasquatch Provincial Park. [12] In July, Harrison Hot Springs hosts the Harrison Festival of the Arts, a ten-day celebration of world music and art. The annual festival features free outdoor beach concerts, ticketed evening performances, a children's day, visual art exhibits, various workshops, and two-weekend art markets. The festival also presents ten to twelve professional performing arts events between September and May each year. [13]
Due to the fact that there have been many sightings of Bigfoot in the Fraser Valley near Harrison Hot Springs, the village has embraced the image of the creature. The official town mascot, appearing on signs and plush toys, is "Hot Springs Harry", a sasquatch; there are also several bigfoot sculptures throughout the village. [14] The village has several gift shops that sell sasquatch-themed souvenirs, as well as a sasquatch museum. [15]
The Corporation of the Village of Harrison Hot Springs was incorporated as a municipality in 1949 under the initiative of Colonel Andy Naismith (ret). It has a mayor and four councillors.
Harrison Hot Springs is part of the Chilliwack-Hope provincial electoral district. Federally, Harrison Hot Springs is in the Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon riding.
Year | Liberal | Conservative | New Democratic | Green | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 28% | 343 | 43% | 537 | 19% | 232 | 4% | 52 | |
2019 | 31% | 347 | 41% | 451 | 13% | 139 | 13% | 140 |
Year | New Democratic | Liberal | Green | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 45% | 527 | 25% | 296 | 10% | 117 | |
2017 | 34% | 292 | 50% | 435 | 16% | 142 |
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The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05 million people as of the 2021 Canadian census, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population.
Whistler is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately 125 km (78 mi) north of Vancouver and 36 km (22 mi) south of Pemberton. It has a permanent population of approximately 13,982 (2021), as well as a larger but rotating population of seasonal workers.
Lillooet is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Pemberton, 64 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Lytton, and 172 kilometres (107 mi) west of Kamloops.
Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. It is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden to the north and Cranbrook to the south. Invermere sits on the northwest shore of Windermere Lake and is a popular summer destination for visitors and second home owners from Edmonton and Calgary.
The Stʼatʼimc, also known as the Lillooet, St̓át̓imc, or Stl'atl'imx, are an Interior Salish people located in the southern Coast Mountains and Fraser Canyon region of the Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
John Willison Green was a Canadian journalist and a leading researcher of the Bigfoot phenomenon. He was a graduate of both the University of British Columbia and Columbia University and compiled a database of more than 3,000 sighting and track reports.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is a quasi-municipal administrative area in British Columbia, Canada. It stretches from Britannia Beach in the south to Pavilion in the north. Lillooet, Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish are the four municipalities in the regional district. Its administrative offices are in the Village of Pemberton, although the district municipalities of Squamish and Whistler are larger population centres. The district covers 16,353.68 km2 of land area.
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of Chilliwack. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km2 (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 by an amalgamation of the Fraser-Cheam Regional District and Central Fraser Valley Regional District and the portion of the Dewdney-Alouette Regional District from and including the District of Mission eastwards.
The Chehalis River is located in the southwest corner of British Columbia, Canada near the city of Chilliwack. It flows south-eastward out of the Douglas Ranges of the Coast Mountains, draining into the Harrison River.
The Skatin First Nations, aka the Skatin Nations, are a band government of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, a small group of the larger St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. The Town of Skatin - the St'at'imcets version of the Chinook Jargon Skookumchuck- is located 4 km south of T'sek Hot Spring- alt. spelling T'sek Hot Spring - commonly & formerly named both St. Agnes' Well & Skookumchuck Hot Springs The community is 28 km south of the outlet of Lillooet Lake on the east side of the Lillooet River. It is approximately 75 km south of the town of Pemberton and the large reserve of the Lil'wat branch of the St'at'imc at Mount Currie. Other bands nearby are Samahquam at Baptiste Smith IR on the west side of the Lillooet River at 30 km. and Xa'xtsa First Nations; the latter is located at Port Douglas, near the mouth of the Lillooet River where it enters the head of Harrison Lake. The N'Quatqua First Nation on Anderson Lake, between Mount Currie and Lillooet, was at one time involved in joint treaty negotiations with the In-SHUCK-ch but its members have voted to withdraw, though a tribal council including the In-SHUCK-ch bands and N'Quatqua remains, the Lower Stl'atl'imx Tribal Council.
The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of Whistler. Its upper valley is about 95 kilometres in length, entering Lillooet Lake about 15 km downstream from Pemberton on the eastern outskirts of the Mount Currie reserve of the Lil'wat branch of the St'at'imc people. From Pemberton Meadows, about 40 km upstream from Pemberton, to Lillooet Lake, the flat bottomlands of the river form the Pemberton Valley farming region.
Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about 33.5 square kilometres (22 mi²) in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lake. Immediately adjacent to the mouth of the upper Lillooet River is the mouth of the Birkenhead River and just upstream along the Lillooet is the confluence of the Green River, which begins at Green Lake in the resort area of Whistler.
Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi²) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its southern end, at the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs, is c. 95 km east of downtown Vancouver. East of the lake are the Lillooet Ranges while to the west are the Douglas Ranges. The lake is the last of a series of large north-south glacial valleys tributary to the Fraser along its north bank east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The others to the west are the Chehalis, Stave, Alouette, Pitt, and Coquitlam Rivers. Harrison Lake is a natural lake, not man-made. The lake is supplied primarily from the Lillooet River, which flows into the lake at the northernmost point.
Pemberton is a village municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. This Pemberton Valley community is on the southwest shore of the Lillooet River and northeast shore of Pemberton Creek. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road about 153 kilometres (95 mi) north of Vancouver, 33 kilometres (21 mi) northeast of Whistler, and 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Lillooet.
The District of Kent is a district municipality located 116 kilometres (72 mi) east of Vancouver, British Columbia. Part of the Fraser Valley Regional District, Kent consists of several communities, the largest and most well-known being Agassiz—the only town in the municipality—Harrison Mills, Kilby, Mount Woodside, Kent Prairie, Sea Bird Island and Ruby Creek. Included within the municipality's boundaries are several separately-governed Indian reserves, including the Seabird Island First Nation's reserves on and around the island of the same name.
The Lil'wat First Nation, a.k.a. the Lil'wat Nation or the Mount Currie Indian Band, is a First Nation band government located in the southern Coast Mountains region of the Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Lillooet Tribal Council, which is the largest grouping of band governments of the St'at'imc or Stl'atl'imx people. Other St'at'imc governments include the smaller In-SHUCK-ch Nation on the lower Lillooet River to the southwest, and the independent N'quatqua First Nation at the near end of Anderson Lake from Mount Currie, which is the main reserve of the Lil'wat First Nation, and also one of the largest Indian reserves by population in Canada.
Skookumchuck Hot Springs is a hot spring in British Columbia, Canada. Its pre-colonial, Indigenous name is Tsek Hot Spring or T'sek Hot Spring. The former colonial name is Saint Agnes Well. The springs are located near the First Nation community of Skookumchuck, on the historic Harrison Lillooet Gold Rush trail in the Lillooet River valley, south of Lillooet Lake.
Skatin is a community of under 100 persons in Skatin First Nations, aka the Skatin Nations, a Band government of the larger Band of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, part of the St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. Skatin, the official new name, reverts to the traditional pre-colonial/pre-Columbian name. The alternate past name still commonly used by outsiders, Skookumchuck, is the St'at'imcets version of the Chinook Jargon Skookumchuck, meaning Strong Waters, i.e. rapids. The town site is 4 km south of T'sek Hot Spring, formerly named both Saint Agnes Well and Skookumchuck Hot Springs. The community is 28 km south of the outlet of Lillooet Lake on the east side of the Lillooet River. It is approximately 75 km south of the town of Pemberton and the large reserve of the Lil'wat branch of the St'at'imc at Mount Currie, British Columbia. See Skatin First Nations for details about the complicated Band(s) structure.
Mount Breakenridge, 2,395 m or 7,858 ft, is a mountain in the Lillooet Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of upper Harrison Lake in the angle of mountains formed by that lake and the Big Silver River.
The New Westminster Land District is one of 59 land districts of British Columbia, Canada, which are the underlying cadastral divisions of that province, created with rest of those on Mainland British Columbia via the Lands Act of the Colony of British Columbia in 1860. The British Columbia government's BC Names system, a subdivision of GeoBC, defines a land district as "a territorial division with legally defined boundaries for administrative purposes". All land titles and surveys use the Land District system as the primary point of reference, and entries in BC Names for placenames and geographical objects are so listed.