The Shuswap Highland is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
-like hilly area of in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. 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 the lower
Shuswap River east of
Vernon in the
Okanagan.
The highland is not a unified range, but a combination of small uplands broken up by the valleys of the
Clearwater,
North Thompson and
Adams Rivers and also by the lowlands in the southwest flanking
Shuswap Lake. In that area of the valley are the towns of
Falkland,
Westwold, and
Monte Creek along
Highway 97. This area also includes the Spa Hills, and the other isolated pockets of hills and mini-plateaus between the Thompson Plateau proper and Shuswap Lake. The highest point of the Highland is Matterhorn Peak in the
Dunn Peak massif at 2636 meters.
The Shuswap Highland is in essence a
foothill (or transitional) area between the much broader interior plateaus southwest and west of it, and the mountainous terrain of the northern
Monashee and
Cariboo Mountains on the east/north-east.
Climates here range from sub-alpine in the mountains, especially further north, to a semi-arid, more temperate, continental climate that is found around Shuswap Lake.
See also
*
Okanagan Highland
*
Quesnel Highland
*
Geography of British Columbia
*
Geology of British Columbia
*
Geology of the Pacific Northwest
References
*S. Holland, ''Landforms of British Columbia'', Province of British Columbia, 1976
*
Mountain ranges of the Interior Plateau
Shuswap Country
Okanagan
Thompson Country
Cariboo Mountains
Monashee Mountains
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