Fountain Valley, officially named Three Lake Valley and also known as the Fountain Lakes Valley, is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

and rural community located on the east flank of

Fountain Ridge A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

, just east of the town of

Lillooet, British Columbia Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, 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 British ...

, Canada and immediately south of the

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

community of

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

. The valley is historically significant as part of the River Trail, which ran up the length 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 ...

from

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 ...

to Big Bar and beyond, diverging at various points to connect to trails farther east and with the

Old Cariboo Road The Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. It should not be confused with the Cariboo Road, which was built slightly later and used a differen ...

at Fountain, then known as the Upper Fountains and an important junction and staging-ground for freight wagons and travellers bound northwards to the Cariboo goldfields. The trail through the valley, which developed into a wagon road whose roadgrade is largely used by today's road through the valley, climbs a steep grade from its southern end, near

Fountainview Farms Fountainview Academy is parochial boarding secondary school, located 17 miles south of Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. It enrolls approximately 60 students in grades 10–12, primarily from the United States of America and Canada, but studen ...

on the Fraser, and descends relatively gently towards Fountain. The three lakes in the valley, which give it its official name, are

Cinquefoil Lake ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...

, Kwotlenemo Lake (aka Fountain Lake), and Chilhil Lake, the three of them collectively being known as the Fountain Lakes There are many recreational dwellings and small ranches forming a community in the valley, which is something of a rural "suburb" of Lillooet. Indian reserves of the

Fountain Indian Band Xaxli'p, ( lil, xáxl̓ǝpamx) also known as the Fountain or the Fountain Indian Band, is a First Nations government located in the Central Interior-Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Lillooet ...

located in this valley are Fountain Creek Indian Reserve No. 8, Fountain Indian Reserve No. 4, and Fountain Indian Reserve No. 12, all on

Fountain Creek Fountain Creek is a stream that originates in Woodland Park in Teller County and flows through El Paso County to its confluence with the Arkansas River near Pueblo in Pueblo County, Colorado. The creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydr ...

north of the Fountain Lakes, Chilhil Indian Reserve No. 6, south of Chilhil Lake, Fish Lake Indian Reserve No. 7 at the south end of Cinquefoil Lake. and Quatlenemo Indian Reserve No. 5. All except Fish Lake IR 7, which is under the governance of the

Lytton First Nation The Lytton First Nation ( thp, ƛ̓q̓əmci̓n), a First Nations band government, has its headquarters at Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While it is the largest of all Nlaka'pamux bands, unlike al ...

, are reserves of the

Fountain First Nation Xaxli'p, ( lil, xáxl̓ǝpamx) also known as the Fountain or the Fountain Indian Band, is a First Nations government located in the Central Interior-Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Lillooet ...

References

{{reflist Valleys of British Columbia Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Lillooet Country Populated places in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District