The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the

Southern Interior of British Columbia Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is the main subregion of the larger

Thompson Country Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, more or less de ...

and is often referred to separately, or in combination forms, notably the

Thompson-Nicola Regional District The Thompson–Nicola Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canada 2021 Census population was 143,680 and the area covers 44,449.49 square kilometres. The administrative offices are in the mai ...

. The combination Nicola-Similkameen is also common. The Nicola Country is roughly synonymous with the basin of the

Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivière de Nicolas, adapted to Nicolas River, Nicola's River in English, is one of the major tributaries of the Thompson River in the Canadian province of British Columbia, entering th ...

, but unlike other similar region-names in BC was not named for the river. Rather, both were named as a result of this region being the territory under the rule of Nicola (''Hwistesmexteqen''), the most prominent and influential of the chiefs of the

Nicola people The Nicola people are a First Nations political and cultural alliance in the Nicola Country region of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are mostly located in the Nicola River valley around the area of Merrit ...

, who like the river and region were named for the chief, i.e. "Nicola's people". Nicola was the son of Pelkamulox, an

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

chief who, at the invitation of Kwa'lila, the Secwepemc chief of Kamloops, settled in the valley to escape harassment at his former domicile at the head of Okanagan Lake and founded there the joint community of Okanagans and

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

known as the Nicola people and whose government is the

Nicola Tribal Association Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname **Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola people ...

, and at one time included members of the now-extinct "Stuwix" or

Nicola Athapaskans The Nicola Athapaskans, also known as the Nicola people or Stuwix, were an Athabascan people who migrated into the Nicola Country of what is now the Southern Interior of British Columbia from the north a few centuries ago but were slowly reduced in ...

. Other than the several First Nations reserves in the Nicola Country, there are a number of small non-indigenous settlements. The area's only significant and largest town is Merritt. Also of note in the region is the

Douglas Lake Ranch The Douglas Lake Cattle Company is Canada's largest working cattle ranch, usually known as the Douglas Lake Ranch. Founded June 30, 1886, it has been operating continuously since. This date also marks the completion of the last leg of the first ...

, one of the world's largest ranches. Its headquarters is north and east of Merritt at Douglas Lake but whose lands span most of the

Thompson Plateau The Thompson Plateau forms the southern portion of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada, lying to the west of Okanagan Lake, south of the Thompson River and east of (although never adjoining it) the Fraser River. At its most southern p ...

and also country beyond it to the northeast in 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 ...

and to the north in the Bonaparate Plateau.

Climate and terrain

Located in the rainshadow of the

Canadian Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascad ...

and the

Lillooet Ranges The Lillooet Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. They are located between the drainage of the Lillooet River and Harrison Lake on the west and the canyon of the Fraser Rive ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

, the climate of the Nicola Country is dry and, in summers, quite hot. Due to a higher elevation than surrounding basins, it tends to be cooler than Kamloops, the Okanagan, the Shuswap or the lower Thompson areas. Vegetation in lower elevations tends towards sagebrush and open pine and deciduous, with high-elevation areas thick with coniferous forest. Wildlife is abundant, and the

timber rattler The timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, or banded rattlesnake (''Crotalus horridus'') Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of ...

is present in the region.

References

*
''The Thompson Country'', Mark Sweeten Wade
Thompson Country Thompson-Nicola Regional District Valleys of British Columbia Nlaka'pamux First Nations history in British Columbia History of British Columbia {{FirstNations-stub