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61-576: A main population centre of the Stʼatʼimc (Lillooet Nation), who comprise just over 50 per cent of the Lillooet area residents, it is one of the southernmost communities in North America where indigenous people form the majority. First Nations communities assert the land is traditional territory, having been continuously inhabited for thousands of years. The confluence of several main streams with

122-523: A depot between the Seton River and Cayoosh Creek. That month, the first passenger train arrived, triggering a revival for the isolated town, since a railway could ship agricultural produce. By year end, the track reached Clinton , an additional 72 kilometres (45 mi). To benefit the railway rather than land speculators, PGE had bypassed the downtown by crossing the Fraser south of the Seton River on

183-492: A humid continental/oceanic climate, but it borders on a semi-arid climate (Köppen Cfb/Dfb/BSk ). Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains , it has a dry climate with an average of 349.5 mm (13.76 in) of precipitation being recorded annually. The locality often vies with Lytton and Osoyoos for the title of "Canada's Hot Spot" on a daily basis in summer. Lillooet holds

244-638: 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

305-665: 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)

366-412: A relatively high-rate of intermarriage between all groups. According to the 2021 census , religious groups in Lillooet included: Lillooet has one high school, Lillooet Secondary, which also serves students from neighbouring rural localities such as Shalalth , Seton Portage , Gold Bridge and Bralorne , although those communities do offer students a secondary school program. Cayoosh Elementary School

427-715: 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 ,

488-442: 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

549-516: A toll road by Gustavus Blin Wright , the first 20 to 30 kilometres of tortuous canyon-brink grade remained little changed until the 1970s. In 1864, the shorter Cariboo Road , which connected Yale to Barkerville via Ashcroft , bypassed Lillooet. The Fraser was crossed by ferry at Lillooet . Parsonville had faded into obscurity by 1889, when the first bridge at Lillooet opened. Consequently, Lillooet became "Mile 0". The numbered roadhouse names of

610-587: Is in the Cayoosh Heights subdivision and George M. Murray Elementary serves North Lillooet. The Upper St'at'imc Culture, Language and Education Society (USCLES) operates education programs, but most St'at'imc children attend the public school system. Post-secondary programs are offered at a Thompson Rivers University campus. The Fountainview Academy , about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south, is an international private school, which offers work-study experience that includes organic farming. Lillooet experiences

671-654: 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 a progressively deeper canyon between the Lillooet Ranges of the Coast Mountains on its west and

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732-463: Is named Queensborough and 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

793-622: 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

854-610: The Cariboo district became measured from the bend in Main Street commemorated by a cairn erected in 1939. However, when the present bridge was constructed south of the town, these old travel measurements became understated by about two miles. In 1994, fire destroyed the station bridge over the Seton River. In 2020, a two-lane structure replaced the temporary single lane bridge installed in 1994. The section of Main Street north from

915-760: The Cariboo Prospector passenger train in October 2002 ended through service. Canadian National Railway freight trains on break and the Kaoham Shuttle still use the station. The town began as a goldrush centre in the late 1850s, booming during the progression of discoveries on the Fraser and in the Cariboo in the early 1860s. The title of "the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco " moved in rapid succession from Yale to Lillooet, and then to Barkerville . Just after this gold rush,

976-471: 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 the river. Hells Gate is visible from Trans-Canada Highway 1 about 2 km (1.2 mi) south of

1037-819: The Douglas Road , a.k.a. the Lakes Route, which was the main trail from the south. This name, which means "wild onion", appears on Anderson's 1849 map. For the fortune seekers of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush (upper canyon) and the Cariboo Gold Rush , the portage-intensive Douglas Road from the south terminated at Lillooet. Across the Fraser, Parsonville was "Mile 0" of the Old Cariboo Road , which stretched about 339 kilometres (211 mi) northward to Alexandria . Built as

1098-572: 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

1159-529: The Klondike . Other gold prospecting in the area included underground hard-rock mining in the Bridge River Country , which began in the 1880s and 1890s, but peaked from the 1930s to the 1950s. Gold Bridge and Bralorne were mining centres. Prospecting for gold continues and to a lesser extent for copper, silver and nephrite jade . Until the discovery of larger jade deposits near Cassiar ,

1220-486: The Lillooet Airport . In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Lillooet had a population of 2,302 living in 1,111 of its 1,214 total private dwellings, a change of 1.2% from its 2016 population of 2,275. With a land area of 27.63 km (10.67 sq mi), it had a population density of 83.3/km (215.8/sq mi) in 2021. Lillooet's larger regional population includes that of

1281-518: The Lillooet railway bridge . PGE erected a station and four-stall roundhouse at East Lillooet, which was a divisional point . The initial depot, called Lillooet station, was 2.4-kilometre (1.5 mi) westward across the Fraser. In 1930, PGE built the 8.9-kilometre (5.5 mi) Lillooet Diversion from the head of Seton Lake, through the downtown, and north to the Polley bridge. In 1931, PGE completed

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1342-593: 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

1403-543: 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

1464-686: 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 the Dakelh language is Lhtakoh . The Tsilhqot'in name for

1525-757: 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 the confluence of the Chilcotin River , near the city of Williams Lake , southwards. It

1586-619: 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 river is named after Simon Fraser , who led an expedition in 1808 on behalf of

1647-589: 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

1708-660: The British Columbia Coast in 1942. Each were "self-support" sites, where family groups who had the financial means could remain together, but the locations were more isolated than the camps in the Kootenays. Since internees were not permitted to return to the coast until 1949, many families permanently settled in Lillooet. The largest camp was East Lillooet, housing 309 people. The other nearby camps were at Shalalth , Minto Mine , and McGillvray Falls. The town includes infrastructure typical for its size. In 2009,

1769-548: The Excelsior in the early 1900s. Further lodgings were the International Hotel (1866) and Victoria Hotel (1892). In 1864, Joseph Watkinson, Thomas Harris, F.W. Foster, and Richard Hoey built the first flour mill . In 1896, St. Andrews Presbyterian church was erected. In 1904, the town was surveyed. The 1930 fire destroyed the Excelsior, Hurley's Grocery, a movie theatre and the government liquor store. In 1946,

1830-620: The Fraser attracted large seasonal and permanent indigenous populations. Situated in the Lower Fountain , the Bridge River Rapids (Sat' or Setl), which blocked migrating salmon, has remained a popular fishing and fish drying site for centuries. Keatley Creek Archaeological Site , one of the largest ancient pit-house communities in the Pacific Northwest , is one of the many archaeological and heritage sites in

1891-460: The Lillooet area was the world's largest source of the nephrite form. Unknown tonnes were exported to China before government assayers discovered the nature of the "black rocks" that the Chinese miners found so interesting. In the 1950s, local farmer and teacher Ron Purvis adapted the skil-saw concept to create a diamond rotary blade. The blade could safely cut the immovable jade boulders which line

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1952-593: The North Arm, which is the southern boundary of 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

2013-578: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 184756974 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:35:31 GMT Fraser River The Fraser River ( / ˈ f r eɪ z ər / ) is the longest river within British Columbia , Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in

2074-601: The banks and beds of the Fraser and Bridge rivers, whereas blasting would have shattered the rock. Although local stores sell polished jade souvenirs, major commercial jade operations no longer exist in the Lillooet area. The northward advance of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) rail head reached the head of Seton Lake in January 1915 and the Lillooet locality the following month. PGE built

2135-469: The bridge, built a new two-storey station downtown, and dismantled and reassembled the roundhouse nearby. The latter was demolished during the early 1970s. The Lillooet station building, which was replaced in 1986, was 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) east of Craig (14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi) east of Retakit after Craig closed) and 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) south of Polley (12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) south of Fountain after Polley closed). The withdrawal of

2196-531: The cairn was called "the Golden Mile" allegedly to reflect gold dust scattered on the ground but indisputably as a supply hub fueled by the goldrush traffic. West of Lillooet, the Golden Cache Mine on Cayoosh Creek , was staked in 1895. However, promising expectations proved illusive, which ended further investment. The associated prospecting boom ceased by 1900, when mining activity relocated to

2257-540: 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

2318-445: The district developed a community plan. In 2013, the water treatment plant received a $ 5.6 million upgrade. In 2019, Tourism Lillooet released a strategic plan. In 2022, an electric vehicle fast charging station opened. Police, fire, and ambulance, respectively operate emergency service bases. The Lillooet Hospital & Health Centre is a Level 1 Community Hospital which includes 24-hour emergency services. The district owns and operates

2379-408: The estuary, most notably Westham Island , 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

2440-476: 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

2501-648: The flat flood plain . The islands of 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

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2562-523: 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

2623-563: 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

2684-491: The months of April (36.1 °C [97.0 °F]), May (41.7 °C [107.1 °F]), and December (22.2 °C [72.0 °F]). The coldest temperature recorded was measured at the airport during a November cold snap in 1985. With an average annual snowfall of 26.5 cm (10.4 in), Lillooet is the least snowy place in the BC Interior. St%CA%BCat%CA%BCimc Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2745-437: 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

2806-616: The railway, ranching, farming, and government services. The long growing season has favoured orchards, and in recent times, ginseng. Once, hop and tobacco crops supported the former local beer, cigar and chewing tobacco industries. The town has relied upon forestry since the mid-1970s. In the 1940s, an Italian named Savona planted vines in the Fountain area. Established in 2009, the Fort Berens Winery in East Lillooet

2867-404: The record for the fourth-hottest temperature recorded in British Columbia and Canada (behind Lytton , Ashcroft and Kamloops ). On 29 June 2021, during the 2021 Western North America heat wave which brought unprecedented heat to the Pacific Northwest , the temperature reached 46.8 °C (116.2 °F). Lillooet also holds the record for the hottest temperature recorded in the province during

2928-476: 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

2989-555: 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 the Yellowhead Highway and west past Mount Robson to

3050-459: 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

3111-567: The settlement incorporated as a village municipality. In 1948, fire destroyed the Log Cabin Theatre, an 1860s livery barn that had been remodelled into theatre in 1934. Booms occurred during local gold mining activity, and in the 1940s and 50s during the construction of the Bridge River Power Project . In 1996, the town re-incorporated as a district municipality. The economy was historically based upon logging,

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3172-540: The three large bands of the St'at'imc or Lillooet Nation whose reserves abut the town on all sides, and another three large reserves within 20 miles (32 km); 430 of the District of Lillooet's population are aboriginal. Historical populations have included large numbers of Americans and Chinese, although there are few of either today (although many longtime local families, First Nations and non-First Nations, have some bloodlines from both). The town's non-native population has been historically multi-ethnic in extraction, with

3233-428: The town's layout was surveyed by the Royal Engineers . In 1860, the population was 4,000–5,000. About that time, Richard Hoey was granted 16 hectares (40 acres) on the Texas Creek Road. St. Mary the Virgin Anglican church was built in 1861 and a school established in 1863. That year, the hotels and shops served a population of about 1,600. The Stage Hotel (1860) was considered first class. The Pioneer Hotel (1862) became

3294-655: 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 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

3355-446: The vicinity. Several petroglyph sites have been documented along the Fraser in the vicinity of Lillooet. The First Nations name of Pap-shil-KWA-KA-meen translates as the "place where the three rivers meet". The former European name of Cayoosh Flat inferred a dead or dying Cayuse horse (namely a decrepit specimen) at the river. In 1859, Governor Douglas granted a petition to change the name to Lillooet. The Lil'wat people lived on

3416-406: 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,

3477-421: 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

3538-411: 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

3599-435: Was the first attempt at commercial viticulture . Visitors can taste the award-winning wines. The Cliff & George Vineyards, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south on the west side of the Fraser, offers a similar opportunity as well as picnic areas on the historic Texas Creek Ranch near Texas Creek . Four internment camps existed in the Lillooet area during World War II , following the removal of Japanese Canadians from

3660-421: 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,

3721-462: 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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