Misplaced Pages

#948051

31-722: Highway 24 , also known as the Little Fort Highway or the Interlakes Highway , is a 97-kilometre-long (60 mi) east-west connection between the Cariboo Highway , just south of 100 Mile House , and the Southern Yellowhead Highway at Little Fort . It practically provides a "second-chance" route to travellers heading east from Vancouver who missed the route to the northern part of the province or toward Edmonton . Although

62-627: A rural gravel road did exist between 93 Mile House and Little Fort previously, construction under the Highway 24 name on the modern route did not begin until 1974. A dirt highway was open by 1977. Paving and auxiliary feature installation was complete by 1981. Highway 24 straddles the boundary between the Cariboo and Thompson-Nicola Regional Districts. It begins in the west at 93 Mile House , approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) south of 100 Mile House . After 9 km (5.6 mi), it passes through

93-469: A two-lane highway to a freeway with as many as six lanes. Some remote sections also remain unpaved and gravelled . The route takes its number from U.S. Route 97 , with which it connects at the international border. The highway was initially designated '97' in 1953. The busiest section of Highway 97 is in West Kelowna, carrying almost 70,000 vehicles per day. Some sections in the northern regions of

124-539: Is 441 km (274 mi) in length and named for the Cariboo region, through which it travels. Much of its length as far as Quesnel follows approximately the route of the original Cariboo Wagon Road , which was also known as the Queen's Highway. The Cariboo Wagon Road's lower stretches between Yale and Cache Creek were severed in many places by the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in

155-555: Is a freshwater lake , through which the Okanagan River flows, in the Okanagan region of south central British Columbia . Along the shoreline are Penticton (north), Kaleden (west), and Okanagan Falls (south). The lake was labelled L. du Chien on Anderson's map (1867) and Du Chien L. on Trutch maps (1866 and 1871). Likely named by French Canadian fur traders , the origin is unknown. The translation as Dog Lake

186-509: Is by far the busiest. Congestion is frequent - particularly near the William Bennett Bridge, and Southbound towards West Kelowna. Four kilometres (2 1 ⁄ 2  mi) north of the Highway 33 junction, Highway 97 leaves the urbanized area of Kelowna (the municipal boundary is actually a further 12 km, 7 mi, north). For the next 43 km (27 mi), the route travels well east of Okanagan Lake, passing through

217-602: Is the only route that runs the entire north–south length of British Columbia, connecting the Canada–United States border near Osoyoos in the south to the British Columbia– Yukon boundary in the north at Watson Lake, Yukon . The highway connects several major cities in BC Interior , including Kelowna , Kamloops , Prince George , and Dawson Creek . Within and near these cities, Highway 97 varies from

248-667: The British Columbia Railway begins to roughly parallel Highway 97, as well as through the community of 70 Mile House before reaching a junction at 93 Mile House with Highway 24 (the Interlakes Highway). The roughly 30 km (19 mi) section of highway between 70 Mile House and Highway 24 has been re-routed to a new expressway with a speed limit of 110km/h. Over the 100 km (62 mi) of road north of Highway 24, Highway 97 travels through 100 Mile House and 150 Mile House before reaching

279-576: The Crowsnest Highway ( Highway 3 ) at Osoyoos. The highway travels north for 47 km (29 mi), passing through the Testalinden Creek Landslide and the communities of Oliver and Okanagan Falls . From Okanagan Falls, Highway 97 runs near the western shore of Skaha Lake before arriving at the locality of Kaleden , where Highway 3A diverges west. 13 km (8 mi) north of Kaleden, Highway 97 arrives at

310-596: The Fraser Canyon to Cache Creek and Prince George. Constructed in 1924-25, the new gravel toll highway opened in 1926, giving road access to canyon communities cut off since the destruction of parts of the Cariboo Road by construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. The Cariboo Highway designation for the Fraser Canyon portion of the route was supplanted with the completion and naming of

341-598: The Kaleden. In 1914, the 10-metre (32 ft) Mallard entered service, which included the river route. During 1920–1931, CP's SS York pushed rail barges on the Penticton–Okanagan Falls leg. The ferry service was subsidized in 1900 and 1910–1922. In the chain of Okanagan lakes, Skaha Lake is south of Okanagan Lake and north of Vaseux Lake . Possessing an approximate 20-square-kilometre (7.7 sq mi) surface area and 55-metre (180 ft) depth,

SECTION 10

#1732780507949

372-574: The Maude Moore, named after his youngest daughter. In 1905, the vessel relocated to Naramata . In 1910, CP launched the 29-metre (94 ft) Kaleden for the Penticton–Okanagan Falls run. Encountering navigational difficulties on the connecting river, the sternwheeler remained in Okanagan Lake after the initial run. In 1909, James Ritchie bought the launch Mallard, which he renamed Kaleden for his Kaleden subdivision. For two years,

403-646: The Shuswap people as a trade route and was later developed by the Hudson's Bay Company in the early 19th century to bring furs from northern BC out to Fort Kamloops and the Columbia River . British Columbia Highway 97 Highway 97 is a major highway in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is the longest continuously numbered route in the province, running 2,081 km (1,293 mi) and

434-703: The 1880s. That section, now part of the Trans-Canada, was rebuilt in the 1920s, when the name Cariboo Highway was first applied to the route, a designation which ran from Yale to Prince George, British Columbia (where portions of the route survive as the Old Cariboo Highway ). Today the Cariboo Highway designation begins at Cache Creek, veering north for 11 km (7 mi) to its junction with Highway 99 . North of Highway 99, Highway 97 travels 92 km (57 mi) through Clinton , where

465-540: The 97C junction, Highway 97 begins to cross Okanagan Lake via the William R. Bennett Bridge . The highway enters the city of Kelowna upon landfall on the east shore of the lake. 6 km (4 mi) east into the city centre, the highway reaches its junction with Highway 33 . As the Okanagan is a very popular travel destination and also has the highest population in inland B.C. (about 300,000), this section of highway 97

496-531: The Okanagan Falls–Penticton run, this boat burned at the Falls in 1898. In 1894, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) built the 17-metre (55 ft) sternwheeler SS Fairview for this run but soon moved to Okanagan Lake, where the vessel burned in 1897. The 27-metre (89 ft) Greenwood, launched in 1897 at Okanagan Landing, burned at the Falls around 1903. In 1899, Snodgrass purchased another boat,

527-615: The Pine Pass, the highway generally follows the Pine River northeast to its intersection with Highway 29 at the town of Chetwynd . After a trek of another 97 km (60 mi) east, the Hart Highway terminates at Dawson Creek . This northernmost section of Highway 97 is 965 km (600 mi) long, and travels north through largely unpopulated wilderness, intersecting the communities of Fort St. John and Fort Nelson ,

558-760: The Trans-Canada Highway at Monte Creek , and is known as the Vernon-Monte Creek Highway . The highway follows Highway 1 for 105 km (65 mi) west to Cache Creek . As it travels westward, Highways 1 and 97 parallel the Thompson River , passing through the city of Kamloops , where the route shares a 12 km (7 mi) wrong-way concurrency with Highway 5 (signed as 97 North and 5 South and vice versa) and intersects Highway 5A . The Cariboo Highway section of Highway 97, between Cache Creek and Prince George ,

589-664: The Trans-Canada Highway c.-1962. Portions of the old highway survive as local streets, some carrying the name Old Cariboo Highway (as in Prince George). This 405 km-long (252 mi) stretch of Highway 97, named for former British Columbia Premier John Hart , begins at the John Hart Bridge crossing the Nechako River in Prince George, travelling for 152 km (94 mi) north through

620-487: The city of Penticton . North of Penticton, Highway 97 follows the western shore of Okanagan Lake for 45 km (28 mi), through the communities of Summerland and Peachland , before reaching its junction with Highway 97C just south of Westbank . From there, Highway 97 passes through West Kelowna and reserve lands belonging to the Westbank First Nation until, 15 km (9 mi) northeast of

651-601: The city of Williams Lake and a junction with Highway 20 , which runs west across the Chilcotin District to Bella Coola on the Central Coast . Over the next 120 km (75 mi) continuing generally northward, the highway passes through McLeese Lake and Marguerite . En route, Highway 97 follows the east bank of the Fraser River to the city of Quesnel , and a junction with Highway 26 . Over

SECTION 20

#1732780507949

682-412: The community of Winfield . Prior to 2013, the highway ran alongside the west shore of Wood Lake to Oyama . A new 9 km (6 mi) section of four-lane highway was constructed and opened to traffic at that time, which bypasses Oyama entirely to the north. The original section of the highway skirting the western shore of Wood Lake is now known as Pelmewash Parkway . Both Oyama and Winfield lie within

713-631: The lake lies as the boundary between the Okanagan dry forests to the northeast and the Cascade Mountains leeward forests to the west. To the south lies the Columbia Plateau shrubland , the only xeric shrubland ecoregion in Canada. The lake hosts a variety of fish including kokanee salmon , rainbow trout , and smallmouth bass . The most recent forming of thicker ice occurred in the mid-1990s and 2014. This article about

744-783: The latter being just east of the junction of Highway 77 , travelling north to the Northwest Territories . Here, the highway veers generally northwestward into wilderness spotted with tiny localities. As it passes over the Rocky Mountains , the highway parallels the Liard River before terminating just over the BC/Yukon boundary at Watson Lake , where the Alaska Highway is numbered as Yukon Highway 1 . From south to north: Skaha Lake Skaha Lake

775-438: The municipality of Lake Country . Highway 97 then passes along the west shore of Kalamalka Lake before entering the city of Vernon and a junction with Highway 6 just south of the city centre. The highway then travels north for 10 km (6 mi) to a junction with Highway 97A near Swan Lake . Highway 97 continues northwest from Highway 97A for 81 km (50 mi), past the town of Falkland , before it merges onto

806-560: The next 115 km (71 mi) north of Quesnel, after passing through the hamlets of Strathnaver , Hixon , Stoner and Red Rock , Highway 97 meets its junction with Highway 16 at Prince George . North of here, the highway veers away from the Fraser River, and the British Columbia Railway veers northwestward from it. The term Cariboo Highway originally applied to the reconstructed route from Hope through

837-449: The province have as few as 250 vehicles per day. The Okanagan Highway is a 189 km (117 mi) section of Highway 97 between the international border and the junction of Highway 97A north of Vernon . It is named for the Okanagan region of British Columbia, through which it largely passes. It begins in the south at the international border crossing north of Oroville , and travels 4 km (2.5 mi) north to its junction with

868-476: The small community of Lone Butte . After passing several turn-offs to resort lakes including Sheridan Lake, the highway passes through the community of Bridge Lake , 38 km (24 mi) later. The highway then proceeds another 50 km (31 mi) east through the forest and over a large hill before reaching its terminus in Little Fort. A very scenic drive, the highway follows a historic trail used by

899-600: The small hamlet of Summit Lake , which is situated at the Continental Divide , as well as through Crooked River Provincial Park , Bear Lake and McLeod Lake , to its intersection with Highway 39 . It then journeys northeast another 150 km (93 mi) over the crest of the Rocky Mountains via the Pine Pass , at which point the time zone changes from Pacific Time to Mountain Time . After descending from

930-524: The vessel towed scows carrying building materials. The absence of wharves meant the scows were run up onto the beaches for loading and unloading. In 1911, J.F. Campbell and A.S. Hatfield bought the Kaleden to form the South Okanagan Transportation Company. The next year, they built wharves on the lake at Penticton, Kaleden, and Okanagan Falls. That year, they bought the new 12-metre (40 ft) launch Cygnet and sold

961-462: Was later adopted. When changed to Skaha Lake in 1930, the Shuswap name for dog was mistakenly chosen. The Okanagan meaning of Skaha is horse. In the early years, the Okanagan depended upon water transportation from the rail terminal at Okanagan Landing . Penticton separates Okanagan Lake from Skaha Lake. In 1893, W. J. Snodgrass acquired a new boat, the Jessie, named for his daughter. Plying

British Columbia Highway 24 - Misplaced Pages Continue

#948051