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The Fraser Basin Council is the first organization to organize its activities and addresses issues in the Fraser Basin from a watershed perspective. The Fraser River watershed is almost as large as California and accounts for over 25% of the land in British Columbia. It extends from its headwaters on Mount Robson high in the Rocky Mountains to the world-renowned estuary and the "plume" of the river that reaches out across Georgia Strait to the Gulf Islands. This vast watershed has 13 main sub-watersheds, each with uncounted small rivers, streams, creeks, marshes, bogs, swamps, sloughs and waterways.
The 13 Fraser Basin Watersheds include:
Upper Fraser
Stuart-Takla
Nechako
Quesnel
West Road-Blackwater
Chilcotin
Middle Fraser
North Thompson
South Thompson
Thompson-Nicola
Bridge-Seton
Lillooet-Harrison
Lower Fraser & Estuary
Upper Fraser
The Fraser River – named by David Thompson after his North West Company colleague Simon Fraser – begins its 1399 km journey to the sea at Mount Robson (3,954 metres), the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains. The ice-blue trickle merges into its only settling site at Moose Lake, soon thereafter to become a familiar golden brown river known as the "mighty" or "muddy" Fraser. The river passes Valemount and McBride as it heads northwest through the Rocky Mountain Trench. The river then turns south to Prince George. Major tributaries in the Upper Fraser watershed include the McGregor River (known for the McGregor model forest where research is done on sustainable logging), the Salmon River north of Prince George and Bowron River and Lake (renowned for its 116 km chain of 11 lakes, rivers and portages). Bowron Lake is named after John Bowron, one of the Overlanders of 1862 who came for the gold rush and stayed on as postmaster and government agent in Barkerville.
Stuart-Takla
The most northern watershed of the Fraser Basin is the Stuart-Takla. The Stuart River (named after NWC fur trader John Stuart) originates at the south end of Stuart Lake near Fort St. James and flows southeastward for 187 km to join the Nechako River 55 km west of Prince George. Takla Lake (from the Dakelh/Carrier term meaning "at the end of the lake") empties to the southeast via the Middle River into Trembleur Lake and then into Stuart Lake.
Nechako
The Nechako River (516 km) rises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Coast Mountains and south of Burns Lake, flows north through Fort Fraser, then east through Vanderhoof to join the Fraser at Prince George. The name comes from the Dakelh/Carrier term meaning "big river." The Chilako River ("beaver hand river") joins the Nechako just west of Prince George.
Quesnel
The Quesnel River (named after NWC fur trader Jules-Maurice Quesnel) drains Quesnel Lake (264 sq km) by flowing northwest from between Bowron Lake and Wells Gray Provincial Park to meet the Fraser at Quesnel.
West Road-Blackwater
The West Road River (227 km) rises in the Ilgachuz Range near Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and flows east to its confluence with the Fraser River between Prince George and Quesnel. Also known as the Blackwater River, the West Road formed part of the "Grease Trail "used by First Nations as a trading route to the interior from the coast. Alexander Mackenzie named it West Road (as he was heading West to the Pacific); because of its black colour, it also was called Blackwater.
Chilcotin
The Chilcotin River watershed, including Chilko Lake and River and Taseko Lake and River, drains the Chilcotin Plateau that stretches east to west from the Fraser River to the Coast Mountains and north to south from the Nechako Plateau to the Bridge River country. Chilko Lake (185.4 sq km and 83 km long) is the center of Ts'yl-os Provincial Park. The Lake's 1,171 metre elevation makes it BC's highest major lake. The Chilko River drains the lake and runs 107 km to join the Chilcotin River near Alexis Creek. Named after the Tsilhqot'in or Chilcotin First Nation people who live in the region, the Chilcotin River joins the Fraser south of Williams Lake. The name means "ochre river people."
Middle Fraser
The Middle Fraser watershed extends from just north of Quesnel to Hope, and includes the communities of Williams Lake, Lillooet, Lytton, Boston Bar and Yale. Many of the Fraser's major tributaries join the main stem of the River along this watershed, including the Chilcotin, Quesnel, West Road-Blackwater, Thompson-Nicola and Bridge-Seton Rivers. Lac La Hache ("Axe Lake" that derives its name from the HBC having lost a load of axes into the lake) drains into the San Jose River (named after the St. Joseph Mission). It then flows into Williams Lake and Creek (named after Chief William, leader of the Sugar Cane Reserve in the 1860s) and joins the Fraser.
The northern portion of the watershed is dependent on forestry and cattle ranching. The southern portion of the watershed, known as the Fraser Canyon, is very dry and rugged terrain that often records the highest summer temperatures in Canada. Hell's Gate is a narrow gorge about 30 km north of Yale, bursting with turbulent rapids. Railway construction in 1913–14 caused rock slides that blocked the river and depleted the runs of salmon; the situation did not improve until 1946 when fish ladders were constructed around the slide area. At the river's peak flow, 908 million litres of water roar through the gorge every minute.
Thompson-North Thompson
The Thompson River, the longest tributary of the Fraser River, drains a 55,827 sq km watershed in central BC and contributes 25% of the waters of the Fraser. The Thompson was named by Simon Fraser for his fellow explorer David Thompson – mistakenly, as it turned out: Thompson never actually saw the river. The Thompson River consists of two branches.
The North Thompson (365 km) rises in the Cariboo Mountains east of Wells Gray Provincial Park and flows southerly through wooded country to Kamloops. Although part of the FBC's Cariboo-Chilcotin Region, 100 Mile House is located in the North Thompson watershed.
South Thompson
At Kamloops, the north branch of the Thompson merges with the South Thompson (161 km) flowing in from Shuswap Lake (named after the local Shuswap or Secwepemc First Nation) on the east. The watershed includes the Adams Lake and River, famous for one of North America's largest salmon runs that occur every four years. The River is named after a Shuswap Chief, Sel-howt-ken, who was baptized in 1849 as "Adam." Communities in the watershed include Salmon Arm, Chase, Enderby and Armstrong.
Thompson-Nicola
The combined North and South Thompson Rivers flow west from Kamloops Lake through arid grasslands for 169 km to the Fraser River. The name Kamloops comes from a Shuswap/Secwepemc word "Kahm-o-loops" meaning "the meeting of the waters." The community of Lytton overlooks the confluence of the rivers. The Bonaparte River (probably named after Napoleon Bonaparte) joins the Thompson at Ashcroft. The Nicola River (named after Chief Hwistesmex'quen who was given the name "Nicolas" by early fur traders) rises on the Douglas Plateau. After the river passes through Nicola Lake, it flows under the Coquihalla Highway and merges with the Coldwater River at Merritt. The Nicola flows west 150 km to join the Thompson near Spences Bridge.
Bridge-Seton
The Bridge River (142 km) flows east out of the Coast Mountains and merges with the Fraser River just north of Lillooet. Its name refers to a toll foot bridge built across its mouth by the local First Nations. Seton Lake was named after British Colonel Alexander Seton. Bridge River mines produced just over 4 million ounces of gold. Two dams were built between 1946 and1960 creating two lakes, Carpenter Lake and Downton Lake. The water from Carpenter is diverted to a powerhouse at Seton Lake that lies west of Lillooet.
Lillooet-Harrison
The Lillooet River (from an anglicized Lillooet word referring to the area around the Mount Currie Reserve) originates with meltwater from the Lillooet Glacier high in the Coast Mountains north of Vancouver. The Lillooet flows south and east past the towns of Pemberton and Mount Currie to the north end of Harrison Lake – the largest lake in the Fraser Valley – that drains by way of the Harrison River 18 km to the Fraser. The Lake is named after Benjamin Harrison, a director of the HBC. The watershed also includes the Chehalis River (origin of the name uncertain) that enters the Fraser just west of the Harrison.
Lower Fraser & Estuary
The Lower Fraser watershed is the most highly densely populated watershed in the entire Fraser River system. It extends from Hope to the world-renowned estuary at the mouth of the river, a crucial staging area on the Pacific Flyway for massive flights of migratory birds. All communities in the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver Regional Districts are located in this watershed.
Historically, this portion of the river flooded each spring, spreading fertile silt across the valley floor and rejuvenating the wetlands that supported abundant wildlife. Today, much of the land in the Fraser Valley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam, Richmond and Delta lies behind 600 km of dikes.
The Chilliwack River (named after the local First Nation people) flows 100 km from Chilliwack Lake through the Skagit Range of the Cascade Mountains to join the Sumas River shortly before it merges with the Fraser River west of Chilliwack. The lower portion of the river was named the Vedder River/Canal (after an early Dutch settler) when it was re-routed as part of the Sumas Reclamation Scheme. In 1922, this project drained Sumas Lake to create new agricultural land called Sumas Prairie.
The Lower Fraser watershed has a number of smaller watersheds. Stave Lake and River (named for the "staves" that were made in the area and used in barrel-making at Fort Langley) drain into the Fraser at Mission. Alouette Lake and River flow into the Pitt River at Haney. The Pitt River, probably named for British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, drains south from Garibaldi Provincial Park through Pitt Lake, emptying into the Fraser River at Port Coquitlam. Widgeon Slough, a managed habitat for waterfowl and other birds, is located at the south end of the Lake next to Golden Ears Provincial Park.
Coquitlam Lake drains via the Coquitlam River to empty into the Fraser River just east of the Port Mann Bridge. The name is a corruption of "Kwikwetl'em," the local First Nation. The lake was dammed at its lower end in 1903 and water was diverted via a 3.5-km tunnel to neighbouring Buntzen Lake for hydroelectric purposes. The Brunette River drains Burnaby Lake and Still Creek to join the Fraser at Coquitlam. The Fraser River splits at New Westminster into the North Arm and South Arm, with Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, Surrey and Delta to the south and Richmond in the middle.
Historically there were dozens of streams that crisscrossed the forested wetland that became Greater Vancouver. Most of those waterways are gone, culverted and buried under fill as the city expanded. One of Vancouver's few remaining streams (and the only salmon bearing stream in the city), Musqueam Creek, flows through Musqueam Park and the Musqueam Indian Reserve just below UBC. Also included in the watershed, but not technically part of the Fraser River system, are other waterways including the Nicomekl and Serpentine Rivers in Surrey/Langley, and Seymour Creek, Lynn Creek and the Capilano River in North and West Vancouver.