The Fraser River is the longest river within
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, for ...
, Canada, rising at
Fraser Pass
The Fraser Pass is a mountain pass in the British Columbian Rockies of Western Canada. Its summit is above sea level. Although immediately adjacent to the Continental Divide, the pass does not cross it; rather, it bridges the drainage basins of ...
near
Blackrock Mountain in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
and flowing for , into the
Strait of Georgia just south of the
City of Vancouver.
The river's annual discharge at its mouth is or , and it discharges 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean.
Naming
The river is named after
Simon Fraser, who led an expedition in 1808 on behalf of the
North West Company from the site of present-day
Prince George almost to the mouth of the river.
The river's name in the
Halqemeylem (Upriver Halkomelem) language is , often seen archaically as Staulo, and has been adopted by the Halkomelem-speaking peoples of the Lower Mainland as their collective name, . The river's name in the
Dakelh language is . The
''Tsilhqot'in'' name for the river, not dissimilar to the ''Dakelh'' name, is , meaning
Sturgeon ''()'' River ''()''.
Course
The Fraser drains a area. Its source is a dripping spring at
Fraser Pass
The Fraser Pass is a mountain pass in the British Columbian Rockies of Western Canada. Its summit is above sea level. Although immediately adjacent to the Continental Divide, the pass does not cross it; rather, it bridges the drainage basins of ...
in the
Canadian Rocky Mountains
The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...
near the border with
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
. The river then flows north to the
Yellowhead Highway and west past
Mount Robson
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.
The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part o ...
to the
Rocky Mountain Trench and the
Robson Valley near
Valemount
Valemount () is a village municipality of 1,018 people in east central British Columbia, Canada, from Kamloops, British Columbia. It is between the Rocky, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. It is the nearest community to the west of Jasper Natio ...
. After running northwest past 54° north, it makes a sharp turn to the south at
Giscome Portage, meeting the
Nechako River at the city of
Prince George, then continues south, progressively cutting deeper into 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 ...
to form the
Fraser Canyon from roughly the confluence of the
Chilcotin River
The Chilcotin River /tʃɪlˈkoʊtɪn/ located in Southern British Columbia, Canada is a long tributary of the Fraser River. The name Chilcotin comes from Tŝilhqot’in, meaning "ochre river people," where ochre refers to the mineral used by ...
, near the city of
Williams Lake, southwards. It is joined by the
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
and
Seton Rivers at the town of
Lillooet, then by the
Thompson River at
Lytton, where it proceeds south until it is approximately north of the
49th parallel, which is Canada's border with 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
From Lytton southwards it runs through a progressively deeper canyon between the
Lillooet Ranges of the
Coast Mountains on its west and the
Cascade Range on its east.
Hell's Gate, located immediately downstream of the town of
Boston Bar, is a famous portion of the canyon where the walls narrow dramatically, forcing the entire volume of the river through a gap only 35 metres (115 feet) wide. An
aerial tramway
An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
takes visitors out over the river. Hells Gate is visible from
Trans-Canada Highway 1 about south of the tramway. Simon Fraser was forced to
portage the gorge on his trip through the canyon in June 1808.
At
Yale, at the head of navigation on the river, the canyon opens up and the river widens, though without much adjoining lowland until
Hope, where the river then turns west and southwest into the
Fraser Valley, a lush lowland valley, and runs past
Chilliwack and the confluence of the
Harrison and
Sumas Rivers, bending northwest at
Abbotsford and
Mission.
The Fraser then flows past
Maple Ridge,
Pitt Meadows,
Port Coquitlam, and north
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
. It turns southwest again just east of
New Westminster, where it splits into the North Arm, which is the southern boundary of the City of
Vancouver, and the South Arm, which divides the City of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, Californi ...
from the
City of Delta to the south. Richmond is on the largest island in the Fraser,
Lulu Island
Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies m ...
and also on
Sea Island, which is the location of
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...
, where the Middle Arm branches off to the south from the North Arm. The far eastern end of Lulu Island is named
Queensborough and is part of the City of New Westminster. Also in the lowermost Fraser, among other smaller islands, is
Annacis Island, an important industrial and port area, which lies to the southeast of the eastern end of Lulu Island. Other notable islands in the lower Fraser are
Barnston Island
Barnston Island is an unincorporated island located in the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area of British Columbia, Canada. Most of the island is part of Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A; the remainder is Barnston Island Indian Reserve No. 3, ...
,
Matsqui Island
Matsqui Island is a large island in the Fraser River in the Central Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located north of the City of Abbotsford and south of the District of Mission and about downstream from the Mission Bridg ...
,
Nicomen Island and
Sea Bird Island. Other islands lie on the outer side of the estuary, most notably
Westham Island, a wildfowl preserve, and
Iona Island, the location of the main sewage plant for the City of Vancouver.
After 100 kilometres (about 60 mi), the Fraser forms a
delta where it empties into the
Strait of Georgia between the mainland and
Vancouver Island. The lands south of the City of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, including the cities of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, Californi ...
and
Delta, sit on the flat
flood plain. The islands of the delta include Iona Island, Sea Island, Lulu Island, Annacis Island, and a number of smaller islands. While the vast majority of the river's
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
lies within British Columbia, a small portion in the drainage basin lies across the international border in
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 ...
in the United States, namely the upper reaches of the tributary
Chilliwack and Sumas rivers. Most of lowland
Whatcom County, Washington is part of the
Fraser Lowland and was formed also by sediment deposited from the Fraser, though most of the county is not in the Fraser drainage basin.
Similar to the
Columbia River Gorge east of
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, the Fraser exploits a topographic cleft between two mountain ranges separating a more continental climate (in this case, that of the
British Columbia Interior) from a milder climate near the coast. When an Arctic
high-pressure area moves into the
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, for ...
Interior and a relatively
low-pressure area builds over the general
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...
and Strait of Georgia region, the cold Arctic air accelerates southwest through the
Fraser Canyon. These outflow winds can gust up to and have at times exceeded . Such winds frequently reach
Bellingham and the
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core ...
, gaining strength over the open water of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The estuary at the river's mouth is a site of hemispheric importance in the
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Discharge
The
Water Survey of Canada
The Water Survey of Canada (WSC) is a scientific branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the ap ...
currently operates 17
gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
stations that measure
discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from ser ...
and water level along the majority of the
mainstem from
Red Pass just downstream of
Moose Lake in the
Mount Robson Provincial Park, to
Steveston in Vancouver at the river mouth.
[Real-Time Hydrometric Data Map Search – Water Level and Flow – Environment Canada]
/ref> With an average flow at the mouth of about , the Fraser is the largest river by discharge flowing into the Pacific seaboard of Canada and the fifth largest in the country. The average flow is highly seasonal; summer discharge rates can be ten times larger than the flow during the winter.[
The Fraser's highest recorded flow, in June 1894, is estimated to have been at Hope. It was calculated using high-water marks near the hydrometric station at Hope and various statistical methods. In 1948 the Fraser River Board adopted the estimate for the 1894 flood. It remains the value specified by regulatory agencies for all flood control work on the river.] Further studies and hydraulic models have estimated the maximum discharge of the Fraser River, at Hope during the 1894 flood, as within a range of about .[
]
History
On June 14, 1792, the Spanish explorers Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés entered and anchored in the North Arm of the Fraser River, becoming the first Europeans to find and enter it. The existence of the river, but not its location, had been deduced during the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez, under Francisco de Eliza.
The upper reaches of the Fraser River were first explored by Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793, and fully traced by Simon Fraser in 1808, who confirmed that it was not connected with the Columbia River.
The lower Fraser was revisited in 1824 when the Hudson Bay Company sent a crew across Pudget Sound from its Fort George southern post located on the Columbia River. The expedition was led by James McMillan. The Fraser was reached via the Nicomekl River
The Nicomekl River springs from the ground in Langley, British Columbia and travels west through the city to Surrey's Crescent Beach, where it empties into Mud Bay, the northernmost section of the Boundary Bay of the Strait of Georgia. It has a ...
and the Salmon River reachable after a portage. Friendly tribes met earlier on by the Simon Fraser crew were reacquainted with. A trading post with agricultural potential was to be located.
By 1827, a crew was sent back via the mouth of the Fraser to build and operate the original Fort Langley. McMillan also led the undertaking.
The trading post original location would soon become the first ever mixed ancestry and agricultural settlement 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, for ...
on the Fraser (Sto:lo) river.
In 1828 George Simpson visited the river, mainly to examine Fort Langley and determine whether it would be suitable as the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
's main Pacific depot. Simpson had believed the Fraser River might be navigable throughout its length, even though Simon Fraser had described it as non-navigable. Simpson journeyed down the river and through the Fraser Canyon and afterwards wrote "I should consider the passage down, to be certain Death, in nine attempts out of Ten. I shall therefore no longer talk about it as a navigable stream". His trip down the river convinced him that Fort Langley could not replace Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of ...
as the company's main depot on the Pacific coast.
Much of British Columbia's history has been bound to the Fraser, partly because it was the essential route between the Interior and the Lower Coast after the loss of the lands south of the 49th Parallel with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It was the site of its first recorded settlements of Aboriginal people (''see'' Musqueam, , St'at'imc, Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamŭ), the site of the first European-Indigenous mixed ancestry settlement in southern British-Columbia (''see'' Fort Langley), the route of multitudes of prospectors during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...
and the main vehicle of the province's early commerce and industry.
In 1998, the river was designated as a Canadian Heritage River The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; french: Le réseau de rivières du patrimoine canadien) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river he ...
for its natural and human heritage. It remains the longest river with that designation.
Uses
The Fraser is heavily exploited by human activities, especially in its lower reaches. Its banks are rich farmland, its water is used by pulp mills, and a few dams on some tributaries provide hydroelectric power. The main flow of the Fraser has never been dammed partly because its high level of sediment flows would result in a short dam lifespan, but mostly because of strong opposition from fisheries and other environmental concerns. In 1858, the Fraser River and surrounding areas were occupied when the gold rush came to the Fraser Canyon and the Fraser River. It is also a popular fishing location for residents of the Lower Mainland.
The delta of the river, especially in the Boundary Bay
, image = Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen.jpg
, image_size = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Looking east across Boundary Bay from Tsawwassen
, image_bathymetry =
, alt_bathymetry = ...
area, is an important stopover location for migrating shorebird
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s.
The Fraser Herald, a regional position within the Canadian Heraldic Authority is named after the river.
Fishing
The Fraser River is known for the fishing of white sturgeon
White sturgeon (''Acipenser transmontanus'') is a species of sturgeon in the family Acipenseridae of the order Acipenseriformes. They are an anadromous fish species ranging in the Eastern Pacific; from the Gulf of Alaska to Monterey, California. ...
, all five species of Pacific salmon ( chinook, coho, chum, pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
, sockeye), as well as steelhead trout. The Fraser River is also the largest producer of salmon in Canada. A typical white sturgeon catch can average about .
A white sturgeon weighing an estimated and measuring was caught and released on the Fraser River in July 2012. In 2021, a white sturgeon was caught on the river weighing , with a length of . It was estimated to be over 100 years old. The fish was tagged and released.
Flooding
The most significant Fraser river floods in recorded history occurred in 1894 and 1948.
1894 flood
After European settlement, the first disastrous flood in the Lower Mainland ( Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver) occurred in 1894. With no protection against the rising waters of the Fraser River, Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver communities from Chilliwack downstream were inundated with water. In the 1894 floods, the water mark at Mission reached .
After the 1894 flood, a dyking system was constructed throughout the Fraser Valley. The dyking and drainage projects greatly improved the flood problems, but unfortunately over time, the dykes were allowed to fall into disrepair and became overgrown with brush and trees. With some dykes constructed of a wooden frame, they gave way in 1948 in several locations, marking the second disastrous flood. Flooding since 1948 has been minor in comparison.
1948 flood
1948 saw massive flooding in Chilliwack and other areas along the Fraser River. The high-water mark at Mission rose to . The peak flow was about 15,600 cubic meters per second.
Timeline
*On May 28, 1948, the Semiault Creek Dyke broke.
*On May 29, 1948, dykes near Glendale (now Cottonwood Corners) gave way and in four days, of fertile ground were under water.
*On June 1, 1948, the Cannor Dyke (east of Vedder Canal near Trans Canada Highway) broke and released tons of Fraser River water onto the Greendale area, destroying homes and fields.
*On June 3, 1948, the steamer '' Gladys'' supplied flood-stricken Chilliwack with tents and provisions as well as moving people and stock onto high ground.
Causes
Cool temperatures in March, April, and early May had delayed the melting of the heavy snowpack that had accumulated over the winter season. Several days of hot weather and warm rains over the holiday weekend in late May hastened the thawing of the snowpack. Rivers and streams quickly swelled with spring runoff, reaching heights surpassed only in 1894. Finally, the poorly maintained dyke systems failed to contain the water.
At the height of the 1948 flood, stood under water. Dykes broke at Agassiz, Chiliwack, Nicomen Island, Glen Valley and Matsqui. When the flood waters receded a month later, 16,000 people had been evacuated, with damages totaling $20 million, about $225 million in 2020 dollars.
1972 flood
Major flooding occurred once again in 1972 due to a significant spring freshet, primarily impacting regions around Prince George, Kamloops, Hope and Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
.
2007 flood
Due to record snowpacks on the mountains in the Fraser River catch basin which began melting, combined with heavy rainfall, water levels on the Fraser River rose in 2007 to a level not reached since 1972. Low-lying land in areas upriver such as Prince George suffered minor flooding. Evacuation alerts were given for the low-lying areas not protected by dikes
Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice
* Dikes ...
in the Lower Mainland.Fraser flood alert imminent Mission gauge under close scrutiny, river likely to peak at 7.5 m by Saturday
. ''Langley Times'', June 6, 2007. However, the water levels did not breach the dikes, and major flooding was averted.
2021 flood
Major flooding occurred in November 2021 as part of the November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods
The 2021 Pacific Northwest floods comprise a series of floods that affected British Columbia, Canada, and parts of neighboring Washington state in the United States. The flooding and numerous mass wasting events were caused by a Pineapple Exp ...
.
Tributaries
Tributaries are listed from the mouth of the Fraser and going up river.
See also
* List of tributaries of the Fraser River
* List of crossings of the Fraser River
This is a list of bridges, tunnels, and other crossings of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It includes both functional crossings and historic crossings which no longer exist, and lists them in sequence from the Sout ...
* List of crossings of the Thompson River
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Thompson River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia from its mouth upstream to its source(s). Also listed are crossings of the North and South Forks.
Main River
North Thompson R ...
* List of crossings of the Nechako River
* List of longest rivers of Canada
* French Bar Canyon
* Fraser Canyon
* List of British Columbia rivers
* Moran Dam (proposal)
* Steamboats of the Lower Fraser and Harrison Lake
* Vanport Oregon flood May 30, 1948
References
Further reading
*
''The Fraser''
Bruce Hutchison, 1950, classic work by noted BC editor and publisher
External links
Map and photographs
{{Authority control
Rivers of British Columbia
Rivers of the Pacific Ranges
Rivers of the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Heritage Rivers
Canadian Cascades
Interior of British Columbia
Landforms of Vancouver
South Coast of British Columbia
Floods in Canada
Drainage basins of the Pacific Ocean
Ramsar sites in Canada
Braided rivers