Cariboo
|
Location of "the Cariboo" as a cultural/historical region, including the Chilcotin and Lillooet-Thompson areas |
|
Location of the Cariboo Plateau proper |
The
Cariboo is a region of
British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the
Fraser Canyon to the
Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland
caribou that live in the region.
As a landform, the Cariboo Plateau is part of the
Interior Plateau, also known as the Fraser Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau proper is the
Bonaparte River although some definitions include the
Bonaparte Plateau between that river and the
Thompson.
As a region and historical identity, the Cariboo is sometimes considered to extend to the
Thompson River to the south of that, and to border on the city of
Kamloops at its southeastern corner and even as far as
Lytton, at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. The town of
Lillooet is generally considered to be in the Cariboo, while the Bridge River Country to its west was sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo, as was also the ranches along the west side of the Fraser northwards towards the
Gang Ranch. Broader meanings of "the Cariboo" sometimes include the
Chilcotin, west of the Fraser. The geographic region known as the
Quesnel Highland, which forms a mountainous series of foothills between the plateau proper and the
Cariboo Mountains, is likewise considered to be part of the Cariboo in a cultural-historical sense - not the least because it is the location of the famous
Cariboo goldfields and the one-time economic capital of the Interior of British Columbia,
Barkerville.
The Cariboo is commonly divided into North Cariboo, Central Cariboo and South Cariboo. The commercial centre of the north is
Quesnel, of the central
Williams Lake and of the south
100 Mile House. The Cariboo region is generally considered to reach as far southeast as the city of Kamloops and to include the
Cache Creek and
Lillooet areas in the south. The region west of the
Fraser River north of Lillooet, the
Chilcotin, is often considered to be a part of the Cariboo; the country south of it immediately west of
Lillooet is sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo.
Important events in the history of the Cariboo region:
* The
Cariboo Gold Rush* The building of the
Cariboo Wagon Road* The
Chilcotin War of 1864
The Cariboo Trail is a
1950 film about the gold rush era of the 1890's in the area. The film is based on a story by John Rhodes Sturdy, screenplay by Frank Gruber, directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starring
Randolph Scott and
Gabby Hayes.
Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a popular
canoeing destination in the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel.
Wells Gray Park to its south is partly in the Cariboo.
*
Quesnel*
Wiliams Lake*
100 Mile House*
Likely*
Horsefly*
Barkerville*
Wells*
Bridge Lake*
Clinton*
Cache Creek*
Ashcroft*
Lillooet*
Lytton*
Spences Bridge*
Savona*
Kamloops*
Information on the South Cariboo
