The Cariboo Plateau is a

volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throu ...

in south-central

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, ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Fraser Plateau The Fraser Plateau is an intermontane plateau. It is one of the main subdivisions of the Interior Plateau located in the Central Interior of British Columbia. Geography The region includes the Cariboo Plateau and Chilcotin Plateau, and the adjoi ...

that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau is the

Bonaparte River The Bonaparte River is a tributary of the Thompson River, joining it at the community of Ashcroft, British Columbia. The river is about long, including the length of Bonaparte Lake. Rising on the Silwhoiakun Plateau to the northwest of Kamloops, B ...

although some definitions include the Bonaparte Plateau between that river and the

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

, but it properly is a subdivision of the

Thompson Plateau 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 p ...

. The portion of the Fraser Plateau west of the Fraser River is properly known as the

Chilcotin Plateau The Chilcotin Plateau is part of the Fraser Plateau, a major subdivision of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. The Chilcotin Plateau is physically near-identical with the region of the same name, i.e. "the Chilcotin", which lies between t ...

but is often mistakenly considered to be part of the Cariboo Plateau, which is east of the Fraser. As a region and historical identity, the Cariboo is sometimes considered to extend to the

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...

to the south of that, and to border on the city of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

at its southeastern corner and even as far as Lytton, at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. The town of

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abou ...

is generally considered to be in the Cariboo, while the Bridge River Country to its west was sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo, as were also the ranches along the west side of the Fraser northwards towards the

Gang Ranch A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

. Broader meanings of "the Cariboo" sometimes include the Chilcotin, west of the Fraser. The geographic region known as the

Quesnel Highland The Quesnel Highland is a geographic area in the Central Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As defined by BC government geographer in ''Landforms of British Columbia'', an account and analysis of British Columbia geography tha ...

, which forms a mountainous series of foothills between the plateau proper and the

Cariboo Mountains The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of ...

, is likewise considered to be part of the Cariboo in a cultural-historical sense – not the least because it is the location of the famous Cariboo goldfields and the one-time economic capital of the Interior of British Columbia,

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

. The Cariboo is commonly divided into North Cariboo, Central Cariboo and South Cariboo. The commercial centre of the north is

Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...

, of the central Williams Lake and of the south 100 Mile House. The Cariboo region is generally considered to reach as far southeast as the city of

and to include the Cache Creek and

areas in the south. The region west of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

north of Lillooet, the Chilcotin, is often considered to be a part of the Cariboo; the country south of it immediately west of

is sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo. The Cariboo Plateau is made of Late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

flood basalt A flood basalt (or plateau basalt) is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot reach ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

s of the Chilcotin Group, a group of related

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

s that is nearly parallel with the

.National Resources Canada - Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes: Chilcotin Plateau basalts
Retrieved on 2008-06-26Chilcotin Junction Williams Lake, British Columbia
It extends along the adjacent

Garibaldi Volcanic Belt The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is a northwest–southeast trending volcanic chain in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains that extends from Watts Point in the south to the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield in the north. This chain of volcanoes is located in ...

in the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

. Volcanism of the Cariboo Plateau is considered to be a result of extension of the crust behind the coastal

Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is a very long, sloping subduction zone where the Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and ...

. Important events in the history of the Cariboo region: * The

Cariboo Gold Rush The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later joined the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly River, ...

* The building of the

Cariboo Wagon Road The Cariboo Road (also called the Cariboo Wagon Road, the Great North Road or the Queen's Highway) was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It involved a feat of engineering stretching fr ...

* The

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

of 1864 ''

The Cariboo Trail ''The Cariboo Trail'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Randolph Scott. It was the final film appearance of George "Gabby" Hayes. Plot Montanans Jim Redfern and Mike Evans head into Canada's British Colum ...

'' is a 1950

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

about the gold rush era of the 1890s in the area. The film is based on a story by John Rhodes Sturdy, screenplay by Frank Gruber, directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

and

Gabby Hayes Gabby is a given name, usually a short form of Gabriel or Gabrielle or Gabriella. Gabby or Gabbie may refer to: People with the name * Gabby Chaves (born 1993), Colombian-American racing driver * Guy Gabaldon (also "Gabby"; 1926–2006 ...

Bowron Lake Provincial Park Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in northern British Columbia, Canada, roughly east of the city of Quesnel. Other nearby towns include Wells and the historic destination of Barkerville. Once a popular hunting and fishin ...

is a popular

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ing destination in the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. Wells Gray Park to its south is partly in the Cariboo.

References

{{Plateaus and Highlands of British Columbia , state= expanded Interior Plateau Volcanism of British Columbia Lava plateaus Miocene volcanism Flood basalts Landforms of the Cariboo Plateaus of British Columbia

See also

References