The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...

Valley and to the west of the

West Kootenay The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Koot ...

. It is often included in descriptions of both of those regions but historically has been considered a separate region. Originally inclusive of the

South Okanagan South Okanagan was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the election of 1916. Following the 1975 election boundary revisions accompanied the riding's renaming to Okanagan South. The riding ...

towns of Osoyoos and Oliver, today the term continues in use to refer to the valleys of the

Kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

, West Kettle, and Granby Rivers and of Boundary and Rock Creeks and that of Christina Lake and of their various tributaries, all draining the south slope of the

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...

The term Boundary District as well as the term Boundary Country can both refer to the local mining division of the British Columbia Ministry of Mines, Energy and Petroleum Resources.

Geography

The Boundary Country comprises the lower valleys of the West Kettle and Kettle Rivers and the lower Granby River. The Granby and Kettle converge just north of the border at Grand Forks, the largest city and heart of the Boundary. The Kettle crosses the border at the town of Midway, near the confluence of the Kettle and Boundary Creek, which flows out of the galena-rich Boundary Creek basin where the city of Greenwood is located. A small pass connects between the Kettle River basin and that of the Granby, where the town of Grand Forks lies immediately upon the border, and just east of which is the resort community of Christina Lake. The principal community of the West Boundary area is Rock Creek, which is located at the western end of the region where the creek of the same name meets the Kettle River. The area is rich with the sites of former towns and cities, most long defunct and nearly disappeared, although the names Kettle Valley, Boundary Falls,

Anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and Eholt still appear on the map.

History

The Boundary Country was part of the traditional territory of the

Sinixt The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senjextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or — less commonly in recent decades — simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are ...

, a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s people of the

Interior Salish The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Salishan people encountered by American exp ...

language group (also known as "

Arrow Lakes The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Bea ...

" Indians). Declared "extinct" as a band for purposes of the Indian Act but not as a tribal group by the government of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the 1950s. Sinixt families still reside in the region as well as neighbouring

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Sinixt Nation website
/ref> American miners poured across the border in 1859 during the Rock Creek Gold Rush. In subsequent years followed the construction of the

Dewdney Trail The Dewdney Trail is a trail in British Columbia, Canada that served as a major thoroughfare in mid-19th century British Columbia. The trail was a critical factor in the development and strengthening of the newly established British colony of Bri ...

and, later on, discovery and industrialization of the area's rich mineral resources, notably copper. Copper provided the industrial base for the development of the region, with many large mines and smelters and associated mining camps and communities. These were large enough that there were two provincial electoral seats in the area Greenwood and Grand Forks. Several towns from this era have since disappeared or vanished beyond recognition, among them Eholt, Deadwood, Cascade Falls and

Political organization

Federally, the Boundary Country is now part of the

South Okanagan—West Kootenay South Okanagan—West Kootenay (french: Okanagan-Sud—Kootenay-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia. It encompasses a portion of British Columbia previously included in the electoral districts of British Columbia Southern ...

electoral district. Historically it was originally part of the

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

riding (1871-1952) and afterwards had been in the Okanagan Boundary (1952-1966), the Okanagan—Kootenay (1966-1968), and the British Columbia Southern Interior (1997-2015) ridings. The Boundary Country is currently part of the

Boundary-Similkameen Boundary-Similkameen is a provincial riding formed in 2008. It includes the populations of Penticton-Okanagan Valley, West Kootenay-Boundary and Yale-Lillooet. The riding's name corresponds to that of a former riding in the same area, with si ...

provincial electoral district. Previously it had been in the

West Kootenay-Boundary West Kootenay-Boundary was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009. The seat combined the Rossland/Trail/Castlegar area (the putative ''West Kootenay'' component) that had previo ...

(2001-2009),

Okanagan-Boundary Okanagan-Boundary was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia spanning the area from the Similkameen towns of Kaleden and Keremeos to Grand Forks and Christina Lake, and including the southern Okanagan towns o ...

(1991-1996) ridings,

(1963-1991), and

Grand Forks-Greenwood Grand Forks-Greenwood was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the town of Grand Forks, in the Boundary Country between the Okanagan and Kootenay Countries. The riding first appeared i ...

ridings (1924-1963). From 1903 to 1924 it was represented by two ridings, Greenwood and Grand Forks, both of which had been created from the redistribution of the older West Kootenay (south riding) (1894 only) and prior to that

riding (1890 only). Originally it was part of the Kootenay provincial electoral district. The Boundary Country is currently part of the

Kootenay Boundary Regional District The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) is one of 28 regional districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2016 Canadian census, the population was 31,447. The area is 8,095.62 km2 (3,125.74 sq mi). The RDKB ...

Climate

Rock Creek, Midway, Grand Forks, Westbridge and Christina Lake enjoy a semi-arid climate with fairly low precipitation, mild winters and hot summers. Higher elevation communities such as Greenwood, Beaverdell, Carmi, Christian Valley and Bridesville can also be considered semi-arid, but receive cooler temperatures and more precipitation, particularly snow. The Boundary Country as a whole shares a similar climate to the Okanagan Valley just to the West.

Municipalities

The largest city in the region is Grand Forks with a city population of almost 4,000 and an area population of about 10,000. The incorporated municipalities in the Boundary Country are the cities of Grand Forks and Greenwood and village of Midway. The unincorporated communities are Bridesville, Rock Creek, Westbridge, Christian Valley, Beaverdell, Carmi, Kettle Valley, Anaconda, Christina Lake and Cascade. During the area's smelting and railway heyday,

was also incorporated as a city but only Greenwood and Grand Forks retain their city status, with Greenwood proudly retaining the status of "Canada's Smallest City".

References

{{Subdivisions of British Columbia, regions=yes Southern Interior of British Columbia Regional District of Kootenay Boundary