This is a list of ghost towns in the Canadian province of British Columbia, including those still partly inhabited or even overtaken by modern towns, as well as those completely abandoned or derelict. Region of location and associated events or enterprises are included.
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 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.
A ghost town is an abandoned village, town, or city, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed or ended for any reason. The town may also have declined because of natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts, extreme heat or extreme cold, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, pollution, or nuclear disasters. The term can sometimes refer to cities, towns, and neighbourhoods that, though still populated, are significantly less so than in past years; for example, those affected by high levels of unemployment and dereliction.
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the western approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1898 and incorporated as the City of Fernie in July 1904, the municipality has a population of over 5,000 with an additional 2,000 outside city limits in communities under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of East Kootenay. A substantial seasonal population swells the city during the winter months.
The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a specialized municipality in southwest Alberta, Canada. Within the Rocky Mountains adjacent to the eponymous Crowsnest Pass, the municipality formed as a result of the 1979 amalgamation of five municipalities – the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Blairmore, the Town of Coleman, the Village of Frank, and Improvement District No. 5, which included the Hamlet of Hillcrest and numerous other unincorporated communities.
Anyox was a small company-owned mining town in British Columbia, Canada. Today it is a ghost town, abandoned and largely destroyed. It is located on the shores of Granby Bay in coastal Observatory Inlet, about 60 kilometres southeast of Stewart, British Columbia, and about 20 kilometres, across wilderness, east of the tip of the Alaska Panhandle.
Unorganized North Algoma District is an unorganized area in northeastern Ontario, Canada, comprising all areas in Algoma District, north of the Sault Ste. Marie to Elliot Lake corridor, which are not part of an incorporated municipality or a First Nation. It covers 44,077.03 km2 (17,018.24 sq mi) of land, and had a population of 6050 in 2021. Many of these communities were/are stations on the Algoma Central Railway or were logging/mining towns.
Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, the municipality encompasses an area of 1,558 km2 (602 sq mi) of mostly Crown land. The townsite is located near the confluence of the Murray River and Flatbed Creek and the intersection of Highway 52 and Highway 29 and includes the site of the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Airport. It is part of the Peace River South provincial electoral district and the Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies federal riding.
Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.
The Quesnel River is a major tributary of the Fraser River in the Cariboo District of central British Columbia. It begins at the outflow of Quesnel Lake, at the town of Likely and flows for about 100 kilometres (60 mi) northwest to its confluence with the Fraser at the city of Quesnel.
Greenwood is a city in south central British Columbia. It was incorporated in 1897 and was formerly one of the principal cities of the Boundary Country smelting and mining district. It was incorporated as a city originally and has retained that title despite the population decline following the closure of the area's industries.
The Village of Slocan is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry terminal is at the mouth of Springer Creek, at the foot of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 is about 69 kilometres (43 mi) by road north of Castlegar and 183 kilometres (114 mi) by road and ferry south of Revelstoke.
Elkford is a district municipality in the southeast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia in the Rocky Mountain range. It is 32 km (20 mi) north of the junction at Sparwood, on provincial Highway 43. Outdoor recreational activities take place in Elkford throughout the year. Elkford hosts an annual festival called Wildcat Days during the last weekend of June.
Gold Bridge is an unincorporated community in the Bridge River Country of British Columbia, Canada. Although numbering only around 40 inhabitants, Gold Bridge is the service and supply centre for the upper basin of the Bridge River Valley, which includes recreation-residential areas at the Gun Lakes, Tyaughton Lake, Marshall Creek, and Bralorne; and the nearby ghost towns of Brexton and Pioneer Mine.
Alexandria or Fort Alexandria is a National Historic Site of Canada on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and was the end of the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road. It is located on Highway 97, 103 miles (166 km) north of 100 Mile House and 28 miles (45 km) south of Quesnel.
Bralorne is a historic Canadian gold mining community in the Bridge River District of British Columbia, some 130 km on dirt roads west of the town of Lillooet.
Green Lake is the largest and most northerly lake in the Resort Municipality of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. It is the source of the Green River, a tributary of the Lillooet River, and is fed by the River of Golden Dreams, which issues from Alta Lake, which is at the height of land dividing the Green River drainage from that of the Cheakamus River to the south, which is a tributary of the Squamish River. Also feeding Green Lake are Fitzsimmons Creek, which originates in the valley above Whistler Village between Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains, and Rainbow Creek, which descends from Rainbow Mountain via the Alpine Meadows subdivision. A former minor ski hill, Rainbow, is located midway between Alpine Meadows and Emerald Estates near the lake's western extremity.
Phoenix is a ghost town in the Boundary Country of British Columbia, Canada, 11 km east of Greenwood. Once called the “highest city in Canada” by its citizens it was a booming copper mining community from the late 1890s until 1919. In its heyday it was home to 1,000 citizens and had an opera house, twenty hotels, a brewery and its own city hall. Phoenix’s magistrate, Judge Willie Williams, who served there from 1897 until 1913, became famous for his booming declaration, “I am the highest judge, in the highest court, in the highest city in Canada.” In 1911, Phoenix’s hockey team won the provincial championship and asked for the right to compete for the Stanley Cup, but it was too late to qualify. The Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Company operated the Phoenix Mine, a copper mine that produced 13,678,901 tons of ore before operations ceased on June 14, 1919.
Parkhurst Mountain is a 2,494-metre (8,182-foot) mountain summit located in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains, in northwestern Garibaldi Provincial Park of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is situated 11 km (7 mi) east-northeast of Whistler, south of Wedgemount Lake, and on the west side of Wedgemount Glacier. Parkhurst's nearest neighbor is Rethel Mountain, 0.89 km (1 mi) to the northwest, and its nearest higher peak is Wedge Mountain, 1.8 km (1 mi) to the southeast. Mount Weart, the second-highest peak in the park, rises 2.6 km (2 mi) northeast of Parkhurst. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains into Wedge Creek, Wedgemount Creek, and Rethel Creek, which are all tributaries of the Green River, which in turn is a tributary of the Lillooet River. The present day ghost town of Parkhurst was an old logging town in the 1920s and 1930s set on the edge of Green Lake, 9 km (6 mi) west of Parkhurst Mountain. The site was named for Mr. and Mrs. Parkhurst who preempted the land on Green Lake in 1902 and built a small house where they lived with their family. The mountain's name was officially adopted on June 25, 1975, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.
Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road is a non-continuous 39.8 kilometres (24.7 mi) road route in the Rockhampton and Livingstone local government areas of Queensland, Australia. Most of the route is designated as State Route 4 (Regional) and Tourist Drive 10. It is a state-controlled regional road.