The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the

Columbia Mountains The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Tre ...

, which run down into the

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

area of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and include the

Selkirks The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

Monashees 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 ...

and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of

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. The range is in area and about 245 km in length (southeast–northwest) and about 90 km at its widest (southwest–northeast).

Physical geography

East of the range is the Rocky Mountain Trench, in this region largely the path of the upper Fraser River (including the section known as the Grand Canyon of the Fraser which is not to be confused with the better-known

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser ...

nearer

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

). To the west the range verges with the

Cariboo Plateau The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau is the Bonaparte River alth ...

through an intermediary "foothill" area 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 ...

. Northwestwards the range drops to the Willow River area of the

Nechako Plateau The Nechako Plateau is the northernmost subdivision of the Interior Plateau, one of the main geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It spans the basin of the Nechako River and its tributaries the Stuart River and Endako ...

, which lies around Prince George. South of the range, northeast of Clearwater a plateau-like mountainous area between the range and the

North Thompson River The North Thompson River is the northern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Premier Range of the Cariboo ...

is part of the

Shuswap Highland The Shuswap Highland is a plateau-like hilly area of in British Columbia, Canada. It spans the upland area between the Bonaparte and Thompson Plateaus from the area of Mahood Lake, at the southeast corner of the Cariboo Plateau, southeast towards ...

, which crosses the North Thompson and continues into the

Shuswap Lake Shuswap Lake (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, ...

area. N.B. Some classification systems assign the Cariboo Mountains to the Cariboo Plateau, which also includes the small

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

and

Clear Range The Clear Range is a small mountain range located in the angle of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers in south-central British Columbia. It has a small subdivision just northeast of that confluence named the Scarped Range. The Clear Range totals 16,27 ...

s but it is so large and so mountainous a range, with peaks that rival the highest in the Selkirks, that it does not warrant the "plateau" designation. The Cariboo Mountains subranges include the Palmer Range and the Mowdish Range.

Watersheds and rivers

Unlike the other three major subranges of the Columbia Mountains, the Cariboo Mountains have almost no contact with the Columbia River or its tributaries, but are entirely bounded by the Fraser and its tributary, the North Thompson River (there is a small exception in the Canoe River, which runs into the Rocky Mountain Trench from the eastern end of the range. The Canoe River is on the north side of

Albreda Pass Albreda is a historic settlement in the Gambia on the north bank of the Gambia River, variously described as a 'trading post' or a 'slave fort'. It is located near Jufureh in the North Bank Division and an arch stands on the beach connecting the ...

, which is the divide between the North Thompson and the Rocky Mountain Trench.

High peaks

The highest summits in the range are in a group known as the

Premier Range The Premier Range is a group of mountains within the Cariboo Mountains of east-central British Columbia, Canada. The range (also known as the Premier Group) is bounded by the Raush River and Kiwa Creek to the north, the North Thompson River on th ...

whose peaks carry the names of eleven Canadian Prime Ministers, one

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

, and one

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. The highest peak is

Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier is the highest peak of the Cariboo Mountains in the east-central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain is part of the Premier Range, which is located just west of Valemount. The name honours the seventh Pri ...

at 3,516 m (11,535 ft). The most recently added name to the group is that of Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Skiing azure pass

The highest peak in the Cariboo Mountains outside the Premiers Range is Quanstrom Mountain 3,038 m (9,967 ft), which is the northernmost peak in the range over 3,000 m.

Sub-ranges

Mowdish Range The Mowdish Range is a mountain range in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 303 km2 and is a subrange of the Cariboo Mountains which in turn form part of the Columbia Mountains. It is often called Mawdish Range with the ...

Wavy Range The Wavy Range is a small mountain range east of Murtle Lake in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 102 km2 and is a subrange of the Cariboo Mountains which in turn form part of the Columbia Mountains.Wells Gray Provincial Park Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres (524,990 hectares or ...

, created in 1939 and currently the 4th largest in British Columbia. Another section is in

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 ...

, a popular canoeing circuit east of the preserved

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

town of

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 ...

. Another park in the range is

Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Likely. Comprising 113,469 ha., the park is located in the Cariboo Mountains between Bowron Lakes Provincial Park (NW) and Wells Gray Prov ...

, between Wells Gray and Bowron Lake.

References

{{Authority control Landforms of the Cariboo Thompson Country Robson Valley Mountain ranges of British Columbia