The Thompson Plateau forms the southern portion of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia , Canada , lying to the west of Okanagan Lake , south of the Thompson River and east of (although never adjoining it) the Fraser River . At its most southern point the plateau is squeezed by the mountainous terrain of the Cascade Range abutting closer to the Okanagan Valley. Its southwestern edge abuts the Canadian Cascades portion of that extensive range, more or less following the line of the Similkameen River , its tributary the Tulameen River , and a series of passes from the area of Tulameen, British Columbia to the confluence of the Thompson River with the Nicoamen River , a few kilometres (miles) east of Lytton, British Columbia , which is in the Fraser Canyon. Its northeastern edge runs approximately from the city of Vernon, British Columbia through the valley of Monte Creek to the junction of the same name just east of the city of Kamloops . Northeast of that line is the Shuswap Highland .
17-664: Some definitions include the Bonaparte Plateau to the north, which lies in the angle of the Thompson and Bonaparte Rivers , and south of the uppermost reaches of that river and a small tributary of the North Thompson, Lemieux Creek. The dominant landscape of the Thompson Plateau is a high, almost plains-like rangeland fairly heavily forested with subalpine forest and tamarack swamp where there exists
34-484: A significant cattle ranching industry, but plunging steeply to the valleys of the Thompson and Okanagan on its outer perimeter which feature more semi-arid landscapes that include rattlesnakes , a ground-creeping variety of prickly pear cactus , sagebrush , and tumbleweed , in addition to fruit growing operations that often rely on irrigation. In its core is the broad and open rangeland of the Nicola Valley , at
51-751: Is Bonaparte Lake , the largest in the locality and at the head of the Bonaparte River, near the edge of the plateau above the Thompson . Other streams draining the plateau is the Deadman River , in fur trade times known by its French name, Rivière Defunté , which joins the Thompson River at Savona , and Loon Creek, which runs west from Loon Lake to join the Bonaparte River between the towns of Clinton and Cache Creek . In
68-522: Is derived, apparently, from a cache or buried and hidden supply and trade goods depot used by the fur traders of either the Hudson's Bay Company or its rival the North West Company . Although it was first incorporated as a Local District municipality with the name Cache Creek in 1959, the name has been associated with this community since long before incorporation. The Cache Creek post office
85-496: Is noted for the wide diversity of Eocene plants and animals preserved in the shale, including the extinct plants Dillhoffia and Trochodendron drachukii . The town lends its name to significant geological features, dating back to the Carboniferous , whose rocks are exposed in the area, Cache Creek Terrane and Cache Creek Ocean . The village of Cache Creek is also served by a community television station (run by
102-617: The Arrowstone Hills Provincial Park . The Arrowstone Hills, the highest summit of which is 1,791 metres (5,876 ft), feature sand canyons, hoodoos and other unusual landforms and a rich wildlife population, including rattlesnake . The highest summit of the plateau overall is Silwhoiakun Mountain 1,870 metres (6,135 ft), at the top of the Silwhoiakun Plateau, which lies between Bonaparte Lake (N) and Kamloops Lake (S), between
119-633: The Deadman River (W) and the North Thompson River (E). Cache Creek, British Columbia 50°48′43″N 121°19′24″W / 50.81194°N 121.32333°W / 50.81194; -121.32333 Cache Creek is a historic transportation junction and incorporated village 354 kilometres (220 mi) northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia , Canada. It is on the Trans-Canada Highway in
136-556: The Ash-Creek Television Society), CH4472 in the neighbouring town of Ashcroft on VHF channel 4 (with an effective radiated power of 74 watts at 15 metres (49 feet) above ground level ), with a repeater ( CH4473 on VHF 8, with an effective radiated power of 49 watts at 45 metres (150 feet)) in Cache Creek, British Columbia. The town is also served by CFMA-FM 105.9, a community radio station run by
153-520: The SE portion of the plateau near Kamloops , both Bonaparte and Loon Lakes are known for their recreational fishing, and the plateau is covered in many lakes and ponds which attract fly-fishing aficionados from around the world (notably Hihium Lake). Porcupine Meadows Provincial Park is also located within this quadrant. Northeast of the Bonaparte Plateau there is a semi-mountainous region near
170-496: The focus of which is the town of Merritt, British Columbia . Towards its southern edges, the plateau is fairly mountainous and includes the ski area at Apex (west of Penticton ), as well as the small but rugged Kruger Range which runs south from there to the confluence of the Similkameen and Okanagan Rivers . The Thompson Plateau contains Nicola Athapaskan , Nlaka'pamux and Syilx settlements. The Nlaka'pamux peoples of
187-529: The plateau comes from a chief of the Shuswap people who adopted the name Bonaparte in emulation of Napoleon Bonaparte , who for some reason was popular among the First Nations of British Columbia , apparently for his reputation as a chieftain and warrior. The Bonaparte Plateau lies between the Bonaparte River on the north and west, and the Thompson River on the east and south; on its northern edge
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#1732772629711204-627: The plateau were known as Cawa'xamux or Tcawa'xamux Nlaka'pamux settlements include: Syilx settlements include: The rocks underlying the Thompson Plateau originated in the Pacific and were appended to the North American Plate in the Mesozoic . These rocks were pervasively intruded by magmas now forming granitic rocks. These upland surfaces are now bordered by prominent valleys over 1000 metres (3000') deep. This peneplain
221-467: The province of British Columbia at a junction with Highway 97 . The same intersection and the town that grew around it was at the point on the Cariboo Wagon Road where a branch road, and previously only a trail, led east to Savona's Ferry on Kamloops Lake . This community is also the point at which a small stream, once known as Riviere de la Cache, joins the Bonaparte River. The name
238-866: The southern boundary of Wells Gray Provincial Park that is part of the Shuswap Highland (or the Quesnel Highland , depending on which definitions are used). The Last Chance Lake and the Goodenough Lake beside it, as well as the Probe Lake and the Deer Lake in the Cariboo Plateau , are soda lakes . The plateau is a mix of wilderness, large ranch holdings, and private recreational properties. The group of hills immediately northeast of Cache Creek have been preserved as
255-513: Was established in 1868. Although still very active with traffic, Cache Creek was extremely busy for a few decades before the Trans-Canada Highway was superseded by the newer and shorter Coquihalla Highway , which bypasses the Fraser and Thompson Canyons between Hope and Kamloops via Merritt , about 97 kilometres (60 mi) southeast. The nearby fossil locality, the McAbee fossil beds ,
272-722: Was formed at successive levels as ice surfaces wasted. Bonaparte Plateau The Bonaparte Plateau , in British Columbia, Canada, is a sub-plateau of the Thompson Plateau which extends to the Quesnel River and lies between the Cariboo Mountains on the east and the Fraser River on the west. The Thompson Plateau is itself a sub-plateau of the larger Fraser Plateau . The name of
289-465: Was overlain by thin sheets of plateau basalts formed from the Chilcotin Group lavas that flowed ten to fifteen million years ago. The area was occupied by Pleistocene glaciation, and a thick mantle of glacial drift covers bedrock over a large part of it. The Pleistocene ended with a gradual stagnation and a wasting of the ice in place. As a consequence, on many slopes a series of channels
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