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.
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to the north, Okanogan County to the east, Skagit County to the south, San Juan County across Rosario Strait to the southwest, and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847.
Sumas is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,583 as of the 2020 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas–Huntingdon port of entry at the north end of State Route 9 operates 24 hours a day. Sumas shares Nooksack Valley School District with the cities of Nooksack and Everson. It is the northernmost settlement on Washington State Route 9.
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in 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 Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the North Shore Mountains, opposite the city of Vancouver BC, to just south of Bellingham, Washington.
The Nooksack River is a river in western Whatcom County of the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, draining extensive valley systems within the North Cascades around Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters, and a portion of Fraser Lowland south of the Canada–United States border.
The Vedder River, called the Chilliwack River above Vedder Crossing, is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.
The Whatcom Trail was an overland trail from the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858. The trail began on Bellingham Bay, at Fairhaven, the route used went via a route known as the Columbia Valley, which is a lowland route connecting the mid-Nooksack River area with Cultus Lake and the lower Chilliwack River in the Upper Fraser Valley, about 80 km east of today's Vancouver. In 1858, T. G. Richards built the first brick building in Washington as an outfitter for those using the Whatcom Trail.
Sumas Lake(Halq’eméyle: Semá:th Lake, Nooksack: Semáts Xácho7, ) 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 and Vedder Mountain. It disappeared after being artificially drained for flood control and land reclamation from 1920 to 1924, leaving behind a low-lying flatland known as the Sumas Prairie, which is nowadays drained by the Saar Creek and the namesaked Sumas Drainage Canal.
Sumas Mountain, also referred to as Canadian Sumas to distinguish it from an identically named mountain just 10 km (6.2 mi) to the south in U.S. state of Washington across the border, is a mountain in eastern Fraser Lowland, in the Lower Mainland region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It sits on the south bank of the Fraser River, west of the smaller Chilliwack Mountain across the Vedder River mouth, and serves as a geographic landmark dividing the Fraser Valley into "Upper" and "Lower" sections. Sumas Peak is an official name for the summit located on the south shore of the Fraser River in the Fraser Valley between Abbotsford and Chilliwack, British Columbia. Elevation 910 m (2,986 ft) above sea level, prominence 875 m (2,871 ft).
Sumas is a city in Washington.
The Sumas River is a river in the Fraser Lowland and a tributary of the Fraser River system, coursing across the international border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.
Matsqui is a former district municipality in British Columbia, Canada. It was incorporated in 1892 and merged with the district municipality of Abbotsford in 1995 to create the new City of Abbotsford. Matsqui used to be the western part of what is now Abbotsford. It had commercial growth in the Clearbrook area which then spilled over to Abbotsford.
The Sumas First NationSumalh or Sumas Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, at the community of Kilgard a.k.a. Upper Sumas, part of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.
The Leq'á:mel First Nation, formerly known as Lakahahmen First Nation, is a First Nations band government whose community and offices are located in the area near Deroche, British Columbia in the Fraser Valley region in Canada, about 12 kilometres east of the District of Mission. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation Chiefs Council, which is one of two tribal councils of the Sto:lo.
The Fraser Lowland is a landform and physiographic region in the Pacific Northwest of North America, shared between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington. The region includes much of the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, and the coastal plains of Washington's Whatcom County. As a physiographic region, the Fraser Lowland is part of the Georgia Depression, which in turn is part of the Coastal Trough.
Sumas was a district municipality in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, located between the then-Village of Abbotsford (W) and Chilliwack (E). It was amalgamated with the Village of Abbotsford in 1972 into the District of Abbotsford.
The Sumas–Huntingdon Border Crossing connects Sumas, Washington and Abbotsford, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Washington State Route 9 on the American side joins British Columbia Highway 11 on the Canadian side.
The 2021 Pacific Northwest floods were a series of floods that affected British Columbia, Canada, and parts of neighboring Washington state in the United States. The flooding and numerous mass wasting events were caused by a Pineapple Express, a type of atmospheric river, which brought heavy rain to parts of southern British Columbia and northwestern United States. The natural disaster prompted a state of emergency for the province of British Columbia.
The 2020 Pacific Northwest floods were a series of floods in the Pacific Northwest, United States. The main impacts were experienced in the northwest quarter of Washington and along rivers and streams draining the Blue Mountains in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. Small portions of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, Canada also flooded. The flooding was primarily caused by heavy rain falling on mountain snow and represents the worst flood on record for some of the affected rivers. Large rivers in the region, such as the Columbia and Snake were largely unaffected.
