The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern
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 ...
. It takes its name from the
Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the
Kutenai First Nations people.
Boundaries
The Kootenays are more or less defined by the
Kootenay Land District, though some variation exists in terms of what areas are or are not a part. The strictest definition of the region is the
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, ...
of the lower
Kootenay River from its re-entry into Canada near
Creston, through to its confluence with the
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
at
Castlegar ''(illustrated by a, right)''. In most interpretations, however, the region also includes:
* an area to the east which encompasses the upper drainage basin of the Kootenay River from its rise 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 ...
to its passage into the United States at
Newgate. This adds a region spanning from the
Purcell Mountains
The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Moun ...
to the
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 ...
border, and includes
Rocky Mountain Trench cities such as
Cranbrook and
Kimberley and the
Elk Valley of the southern
Canadian Rockies, centred on
Fernie. This region also includes part of the
Flathead River drainage basin. ''(illustrated by b)''
* an area to the southwest encompassing the Columbia's drainage from the Kootenay confluence south to the U.S. Border plus the
Salmo River basin. This adds the communities of
Rossland,
Castlegar,
Fruitvale and
Salmo ''(illustrated by c)''
Some or all of the following areas to the north, which drain into the Columbia River, are also commonly included in the Kootenays:
* The
Arrow Lakes area, which adds
Nakusp. ''(illustrated by d)''
* The Upper Columbia Valley, which parallels the first section of the Kootenay River, including the communities of
Invermere and
Radium Hot Springs ''(illustrated by e)''
* The Columbia drainage between the
Kicking Horse Pass and the
Rogers Pass, in and around the town of
Golden. ''(illustrated by f)''
* The Columbia drainage between the
Rogers Pass and the
Eagle Pass, in and around the town of
Revelstoke. ''(illustrated by g)''
When the above regions are added, sometimes the region's name is morphed into Columbia-Kootenay or Kootenay-Columbia, although that terminology also includes the Big Bend Country and Kinbasket Lake, to the north of Golden and Revelstoke, which is not generally considered part of the Kootenays, though part of the
Kootenay Land District.
Finally, the
Boundary Country The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west ...
, a southern east-west corridor between the
Okanagan and the
Bonanza Pass and drained by the basins of the
Kettle and
Granby River
The Granby River is a tributary of the Kettle River in British Columbia, Canada, joining the Kettle just north of the Canada–United States border at the town of Grand Forks. The river is approximately in length and has its origin in the Monas ...
s, is sometimes mentioned as being in the West Kootenay, and in other reckonings as being part of the Okanagan. In actuality, the settlement of the Boundary Country predates development in either of the regions it is now attached to, as is also the case with the
Similkameen Country to the west of the Okanagan. In some descriptions, the Boundary Country includes Osoyoos and Oliver in the South Okanagan (rather than the other way around). The Boundary Country is ''(illustrated by h)'' In the event of its inclusion, the Kootenays could be described as the complete Canadian portion of the
Columbia Basin minus lands drained by the
Okanagan River.
Naming and subdivision
Contingent on the above boundaries, the Kootenays are commonly split either into East and West, or East, Central and West. In general use amongst locals of the area, the "East/West" convention is more common as a descriptor of where someone is from or where a town is located (rather than splitting the region into "East/Central/West" subregions). That being said:
* The usual East-West separator is the
Purcell Mountains
The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Moun ...
, a range running north/south through the region. Areas to the east of this range are deemed to be in "East Kootenay" or the "East Kootenays" while places west of this division are in "West Kootenay" or the "West Kootenays". This places
Creston and points east in the ''East Kootenay'' (or ''East Kootenays'') and
Crawford Bay,
Salmo and points west in the ''West Kootenay'' (or ''West Kootenays'').
* The usual East-Central-West separators are the Purcell Mountains splitting East from Central and the
Selkirk Mountains splitting Central from West.
It remains unclear why both Kootenay and Kootenays are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the area. The plural form is in reference to ''The Kootenays'', both East and West; the singular is in reference to the ''Kootenay Region''. In practice the two terms are used interchangeably, although one indicates a geographical region and the other a legal boundary, the
Kootenay Land District, which was identical with the
original federal and provincial Kootenay ridings.
Economy
Once settled by miners, loggers, and rail workers - the area experienced a
silver rush in the 1890s, the district now contains important tourism, outdoor activity and fruit-growing regions (
Creston Valley) and numerous commercial centres, including
Grand Forks
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city ...
,
Kaslo,
Robson,
Ymir,
Warfield
Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire and the borough of Bracknell Forest.
History
Warfield was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement and is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Warwelt'' ic The name is believ ...
,
Montrose,
Fruitvale,
Salmo,
Trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
,
Nelson,
Slocan,
Playmor,
Winlaw,
Cranbrook,
Kimberley,
Fernie,
Castlegar,
Rossland,
Erickson, and
Creston.
The region has a large network of outdoor activity operators, with the biggest facilities including lift, cat and heli-skiing. This includes some of the oldest resorts in North America such as
Red Mountain, and largest
Revelstoke Mountain. The highway that connects them all has been named th
powder highway
With the emergence of fibre internet, digital nomads and technology developers are now a growing part of the economy
Several coworkingand innovation centres have sprouted includin
Kootenay Lake Innovation Centre
A number of
Community Radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...
stations exist in the region, most notably
CJLY-FM in Nelson,
CIDO-FM in Creston and
Stoke FM in Revelstoke. These stations usually operate either as
Cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
s or as non-profit
Societies.
See also
*
Kootenay National Park
*
Kootenay (disambiguation)
Kootenay, Kootenai, and Kutenai may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*The Kutenai, also known as the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, or Kootenay, an indigenous people of the United States and Canada
**Kutenai language, the traditional language of the Kutenai
**Ktunaxa ...
*
List of provincial parks of the Kootenays
References
External links
Kootenay Rockies Tourism Board website{{Subdivisions of British Columbia, regions=yes
Interior of British Columbia