54-954: The Bowron River , also formerly named the Bear River and Reid Creek, is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It originates in Bowron Lake Provincial Park of east central British Columbia and flows northwest from the outlet of the Bowron Lakes , then northeast, to join the Fraser River. The river was named after John Bowron , the Gold Commissioner in Barkerville . Portage Canyon, accessed by
108-613: A 0.5 km trail off the Vama Vama Forest Service Road, is a stretch of rough water in the lower third of the Bowron River. This spot provides a secluded picnic spot and prime trout-fishing. This article related to a river in the Interior of British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fraser River The Fraser River ( / ˈ f r eɪ z ər / )
162-691: A navigable stream". His trip down the river convinced him that Fort Langley could not replace Fort Vancouver as the company's main depot on the Pacific coast. Much of British Columbia's history has been bound to the Fraser, partly because it was the essential route between the Interior and the Lower Coast after the loss of the lands south of the 49th Parallel with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It
216-598: A progressively deeper canyon between the Lillooet Ranges of the Coast Mountains on its west and the Cascade Range on its east. Hell's Gate , located immediately downstream of the town of Boston Bar , is a famous portion of the canyon where the walls narrow dramatically, forcing the entire volume of the river through a gap only 35 metres (115 feet) wide. An aerial tramway takes visitors out over
270-665: A regional position within the Canadian Heraldic Authority is named after the river. The Fraser River is known for the fishing of white sturgeon , all five species of Pacific salmon ( chinook , coho , chum , pink , sockeye ), as well as steelhead trout . The Fraser River is also the largest producer of salmon in Canada. A typical white sturgeon catch can average about 500 pounds (230 kg). A white sturgeon weighing an estimated 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) and measuring 3.76 metres (12 ft 4 in)
324-654: A short dam lifespan, but mostly because of strong opposition from fisheries and other environmental concerns. In 1858, the Fraser River and surrounding areas were occupied when the gold rush came to the Fraser Canyon and the Fraser River. It is also a popular fishing location for residents of the Lower Mainland. The delta of the river, especially in the Boundary Bay area, is an important stopover location for migrating shorebirds . The Fraser Herald ,
378-442: A significant spring freshet , primarily impacting regions around Prince George , Kamloops , Hope and Surrey . Due to record snowpacks on the mountains in the Fraser River catch basin which began melting, combined with heavy rainfall, water levels on the Fraser River rose in 2007 to a level not reached since 1972. Low-lying land in areas upriver such as Prince George suffered minor flooding. Evacuation alerts were given for
432-506: A wildfowl preserve, and Iona Island , the location of the main sewage plant for the City of Vancouver. After 100 kilometres (about 60 mi), the Fraser forms a delta where it empties into the Strait of Georgia between the mainland and Vancouver Island . The lands south of the City of Vancouver , including the cities of Richmond and Delta , sit on the flat flood plain . The islands of
486-613: Is 49 ° north of Earth 's equator . It crosses Europe , Asia , the Pacific Ocean , North America , and the Atlantic Ocean . The city of Paris is about 15 km (9 mi) south of the 49th parallel and is the largest city between the 48th and 49th parallels. Its main airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport , lies on the parallel. Roughly 2,030 kilometres (1,260 mi) of the Canada–United States border
540-622: Is part of the Fraser Lowland and was formed also by sediment deposited from the Fraser, though most of the county is not in the Fraser drainage basin. Similar to the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland, Oregon , the Fraser exploits a topographic cleft between two mountain ranges separating a more continental climate (in this case, that of the British Columbia Interior ) from a milder climate near
594-427: Is part of the City of New Westminster. Also in the lowermost Fraser, among other smaller islands, is Annacis Island , an important industrial and port area, which lies to the southeast of the eastern end of Lulu Island. Other notable islands in the lower Fraser are Barnston Island , Matsqui Island , Nicomen Island and Sea Bird Island . Other islands lie on the outer side of the estuary, most notably Westham Island ,
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#1732772990103648-644: 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
702-553: The Dakelh language is Lhtakoh . The Tsilhqot'in name for the river, not dissimilar to the Dakelh name, is ʔElhdaqox , meaning Sturgeon ( ʔElhda-chugh ) River ( Yeqox ) . The Fraser drains a 220,000-square-kilometre (85,000 sq mi) area. Its source is a dripping spring at Fraser Pass in the Canadian Rocky Mountains near the border with Alberta . The river then flows north to
756-576: The Fraser Valley , a lush lowland valley, and runs past Chilliwack and the confluence of the Harrison and Sumas Rivers , bending northwest at Abbotsford and Mission . The Fraser then flows past Maple Ridge , Pitt Meadows , Port Coquitlam , and north Surrey . It turns southwest again just east of New Westminster , where it splits into the North Arm, which is the southern boundary of
810-572: The Hudson's Bay Company 's main Pacific depot. Simpson had believed the Fraser River might be navigable throughout its length, even though Simon Fraser had described it as non-navigable. Simpson journeyed down the river and through the Fraser Canyon and afterwards wrote "I should consider the passage down, to be certain Death, in nine attempts out of Ten. I shall therefore no longer talk about it as
864-593: The Lower Mainland ( Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver ) occurred in 1894. With no protection against the rising waters of the Fraser River, Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver communities from Chilliwack downstream were inundated with water. In the 1894 floods, the water mark at Mission reached 7.85 metres (25.75 ft). After the 1894 flood, a dyking system was constructed throughout the Fraser Valley. The dyking and drainage projects greatly improved
918-572: The Missouri River and Mississippi River basins on one side and the Hudson Bay basin on the other. However, it is often difficult to precisely determine the location of a watershed in a region of level plains, such as in central North America . The British and American committees that met after the War of 1812 to resolve boundary disputes recognized there would be much animosity in surveying
972-543: The Mount Robson Provincial Park , to Steveston in Vancouver at the river mouth. With an average flow at the mouth of about 3,475 cubic metres per second (122,700 cu ft/s), the Fraser is the largest river by discharge flowing into the Pacific seaboard of Canada and the fifth largest in the country. The average flow is highly seasonal; summer discharge rates can be ten times larger than
1026-594: The Métis , Assiniboine , Lakota , and Blackfoot . Their power was gradually ceded by conquest and treaty during the several decades that followed. Among these peoples, the 49th parallel was nicknamed the Medicine Line because of its seemingly magical ability to prevent U.S. soldiers from crossing it. In the 1844 U.S. presidential election , the Democratic Party asserted that the northern border of
1080-717: The Oregon Territory should be 54°40′, later reflected in the 1846 slogan " Fifty-Four Forty or Fight !" However, the Oregon boundary dispute was settled diplomatically in the 1846 Oregon Treaty. This agreement divided the Oregon Country between British North America and the United States by extending the 49th parallel boundary to the west coast, ending in the Strait of Georgia ; it then circumvents Vancouver Island through Boundary Pass , Haro Strait , and
1134-589: The San Juan Islands , gaining strength over the open water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca . The estuary at the river's mouth is a site of hemispheric importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network . The Water Survey of Canada currently operates 17 gauge stations that measure discharge and water level along the majority of the mainstem from Red Pass just downstream of Moose Lake in
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#17327729901031188-441: The Strait of Juan de Fuca . This had the side effect of isolating Point Roberts, Washington . Although parts of Vancouver Island and parts of Eastern Canada are south of the 49th parallel, and parts of the United States ( Alaska , Northwest Angle ) are north of it, the term 49th parallel is sometimes used metonymically to refer to the entire Canada–U.S. border. Actually, many of Canada's most populated regions (and about 72% of
1242-728: The Yellowhead Highway and west past Mount Robson to the Rocky Mountain Trench and the Robson Valley near Valemount . After running northwest past 54° north, it makes a sharp turn to the south at Giscome Portage , meeting the Nechako River at the city of Prince George , then continues south, progressively cutting deeper into the Fraser Plateau to form the Fraser Canyon from roughly
1296-515: The City of Vancouver , and the South Arm, which divides the City of Richmond from the City of Delta to the south. Richmond is on the largest island in the Fraser, Lulu Island and also on Sea Island , which is the location of Vancouver International Airport , where the Middle Arm branches off to the south from the North Arm. The far eastern end of Lulu Island is named Queensborough and
1350-480: The United States cede the territory to Great Britain, but no action was ever taken. In 1909 the United States, United Kingdom , and Canada signed and ratified a treaty confirming the original survey lines as the official and permanent international border. Nevertheless, in 2002 the difference of the survey from the geographical 49th parallel was argued in front of the Washington Supreme Court in
1404-548: The Woods, and this was retained even after an 1818 treaty set the boundary west of that point to follow the 49th parallel. At the time that the United States and Great Britain agreed on the 49th parallel as the boundary, much of the North American continent had not yet been mapped. After the boundary was established, British surveyors discovered that Point Roberts lay south of the 49th parallel. The British requested that
1458-505: The average. In any case, the Earth's North Pole moves around slightly, notionally moving the 49th and other parallels with it; see polar motion . The Northwest Angle is the only part of the contiguous 48 states that goes north of the 49th parallel as surveyed. The Treaty of Paris called for the boundary between the US and British territory to pass through the most northwesterly point of Lake of
1512-644: The border to deviate from the 49th parallel by up to 810 metres (2,660 ft). From a point on the ground at this latitude, the sun is above the horizon for 16 hours, 12 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 14 minutes during the winter solstice . This latitude also roughly corresponds to the minimum latitude in which astronomical twilight can last all night near the summer solstice. All-night astronomical twilight lasts from about June 9th to July 2nd . "49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, June 2024" . "49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, July 2024" . At midnight on
1566-422: The case of State of Washington v. Norman , under the premise that Washington did not properly incorporate the portions of land north of the geographical 49th parallel, as laid out by detailed GPS surveying. The court decided against the premise, ruling that the internationally surveyed boundary also served as the state boundary, regardless of its actual position. The British national grid reference system uses
1620-540: The coast. When an Arctic high-pressure area moves into the British Columbia Interior and a relatively low-pressure area builds over the general Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia region, the cold Arctic air accelerates southwest through the Fraser Canyon . These outflow winds can gust up to 97 to 129 kilometres per hour (60 to 80 mph) and have at times exceeded 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph). Such winds frequently reach Bellingham and
1674-643: The confluence of the Chilcotin River , near the city of Williams Lake , southwards. It is joined by the Bridge and Seton Rivers at the town of Lillooet , then by the Thompson River at Lytton , where it proceeds south until it is approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) north of the 49th parallel , which is Canada's border with the United States . From Lytton southwards it runs through
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1728-546: The delta include Iona Island, Sea Island, Lulu Island, Annacis Island, and a number of smaller islands. While the vast majority of the river's drainage basin lies within British Columbia, a small portion in the drainage basin lies across the international border in Washington in the United States, namely the upper reaches of the tributary Chilliwack and Sumas rivers. Most of lowland Whatcom County, Washington
1782-702: The east, and the Rocky Mountains , on the west. West of the Rockies, the treaty established joint occupation of the Oregon Country by both parties; east of Lake of the Woods, the boundary established in the Treaty of Paris would be retained. Although the Convention of 1818 settled the boundary, neither country was immediately able to take control over the territories on its side of the line; effective control still rested with local First Nations peoples, mainly
1836-476: The first Europeans to find and enter it. The existence of the river, but not its location, had been deduced during the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez , under Francisco de Eliza . The upper reaches of the Fraser River were first explored by Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793, and fully traced by Simon Fraser in 1808, who confirmed that it was not connected with the Columbia River . The lower Fraser
1890-523: The flood problems, but over time, the dykes were allowed to fall into disrepair and became overgrown with brush and trees. With some dykes constructed of a wooden frame, they gave way in 1948 in several locations, marking the second disastrous flood. Flooding since 1948 has been minor in comparison. 1948 saw massive flooding in Chilliwack and other areas along the Fraser River. The high-water mark at Mission rose to 7.5 metres (24.7 ft). The peak flow
1944-563: The flow during the winter. The Fraser's highest recorded flow, in June 1894, is estimated to have been 17,000 cubic metres per second (600,000 cu ft/s) at Hope . It was calculated using high-water marks near the hydrometric station at Hope and various statistical methods. In 1948 the Fraser River Board adopted the estimate for the 1894 flood. It remains the value specified by regulatory agencies for all flood control work on
1998-527: The low-lying areas not protected by dikes in the Lower Mainland . However, the water levels did not breach the dikes, and major flooding was averted. Major flooding occurred in November 2021 as part of the November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods . Tributaries are listed from the mouth of the Fraser and going up river. 49th parallel north The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that
2052-661: The ocean. The river is named after Simon Fraser , who led an expedition in 1808 on behalf of the North West Company from the site of present-day Prince George almost to the mouth of the river. The river's name in the Halqemeylem (Upriver Halkomelem) language is Sto:lo , often seen archaically as Staulo , and has been adopted by the Halkomelem-speaking peoples of the Lower Mainland as their collective name, Sto:lo . The river's name in
2106-443: The parallel, but the vast majority of Canadian territory lies north of it. Parts of the 49th parallel were originally surveyed using astronomical techniques that did not take into account slight departures of the Earth's shape from a simple ellipsoid , or the deflection of the plumb-bob by differences in terrestrial mass. The surveys were subject to the limitations of early to mid-19th century technology; consequently, in some places
2160-437: The poorly maintained dyke systems failed to contain the water. At the height of the 1948 flood, 200 square kilometres (50,000 acres) stood under water. Dykes broke at Agassiz, Chiliwack, Nicomen Island, Glen Valley and Matsqui. When the flood waters receded a month later, 16,000 people had been evacuated, with damages totaling $ 20 million, about $ 225 million in 2020 dollars. Major flooding occurred once again in 1972 due to
2214-474: The population) are south of the 49th parallel, including the two largest cities Toronto (43°42′ north) and Montreal (45°30′ north). The federal capital Ottawa (45°25′ north), and the provincial capital of seven provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia) are south of the 49th parallel. Three provinces, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, are each entirely south of
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2268-476: The river was designated as a Canadian Heritage River for its natural and human heritage. It remains the longest river with that designation. The Fraser is heavily exploited by human activities, especially in its lower reaches. Its banks are rich farmland, its water is used by pulp mills , and a few dams on some tributaries provide hydroelectric power . The main flow of the Fraser has never been dammed partly because its high level of sediment flows would result in
2322-459: The river. Further studies and hydraulic models have estimated the maximum discharge of the Fraser River, at Hope during the 1894 flood, as within a range of about 16,000 to 18,000 cubic metres per second (570,000 to 640,000 cu ft/s). On June 14, 1792, the Spanish explorers Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés entered and anchored in the North Arm of the Fraser River, becoming
2376-404: The river. Hells Gate is visible from Trans-Canada Highway 1 about 2 km (1.2 mi) south of the tramway. Simon Fraser was forced to portage the gorge on his trip through the canyon in June 1808. At Yale , at the head of navigation on the river, the canyon opens up and the river widens, though without much adjoining lowland until Hope , where the river then turns west and southwest into
2430-576: The summer solstice, the altitude of the sun is about −17.56°. "Planets Visible in the Night Sky in 49°00'N, 45°00'E" . Slightly less than one-eighth of the Earth's surface is north of the 49th parallel. Download coordinates as: Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 49° north passes through: In 1714, the Hudson's Bay Company proposed the 49th parallel as
2484-710: The surveyed border is several hundred feet from the geographical 49th parallel for the currently adopted datum , the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). The Digital Chart of the World (DCW), which uses the Clarke 1866 ellipsoid, reports the border on average at latitude 48° 59′ 51″ north, roughly 270 metres (886 ft) south of the modern 49th parallel. It ranges between 48° 59′ 25″ and 49° 0′ 10″ north, 810 metres (2,657 ft) and 590 metres (1,936 ft) on either side of
2538-517: The watershed boundary, and agreed on a simpler border solution in the Treaty of 1818 : the 49th parallel. Both sides gained and lost some territory by this convention, but the United States gained more than it lost, in particular securing title to the Red River Basin . This treaty established the boundary only between the line of longitude of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods , on
2592-414: The western portion of the boundary between the company's land and French territory. At the time, Britain and France had agreed, in the Peace of Utrecht , to negotiate a boundary, but negotiations ultimately failed. Following the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803, it was generally agreed that the boundary between the new territory and British North America was along the watershed between
2646-406: Was about 15,600 cubic meters per second. Cool temperatures in March, April, and early May had delayed the melting of the heavy snowpack that had accumulated over the winter season. Several days of hot weather and warm rains over the holiday weekend in late May hastened the thawing of the snowpack. Rivers and streams quickly swelled with spring runoff, reaching heights surpassed only in 1894. Finally,
2700-421: Was caught and released on the Fraser River in July 2012. In 2021, a white sturgeon was caught on the river weighing 890 pounds (400 kg), with a length of 352 cm (11.55 ft). It was estimated to be over 100 years old. The fish was tagged and released. The most significant Fraser river floods in recorded history occurred in 1894 and 1948. After European settlement, the first disastrous flood in
2754-407: Was designated to follow the 49th parallel from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canada side, and from Washington to Minnesota on the U.S. side, more specifically from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods . This international border was specified in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, though survey markers placed in the 19th century cause
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#17327729901032808-411: Was revisited in 1824 when the Hudson's Bay Company sent a crew across Puget Sound from its Fort George southern post on the Columbia River . The expedition was led by James McMillan . The Fraser was reached via the Nicomekl River and the Salmon River reachable after a portage. Friendly tribes met earlier on by the Simon Fraser crew were reacquainted with. A trading post with agricultural potential
2862-421: Was the site of its first recorded settlements of Aboriginal people ( see Musqueam , Sto:lo , St'at'imc , Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamŭ ), the site of the first European-Indigenous mixed ancestry settlement in southern British-Columbia ( see Fort Langley ), the route of multitudes of prospectors during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the main vehicle of the province's early commerce and industry. In 1998,
2916-462: Was to be located. By 1827, a crew was sent back via the mouth of the Fraser to build and operate the original Fort Langley . McMillan also led the undertaking. The trading post original location would soon become the first ever mixed ancestry and agricultural settlement in southern British Columbia on the Fraser (Sto:lo) river. In 1828 George Simpson visited the river, mainly to examine Fort Langley and determine whether it would be suitable as
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