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Contact Us
Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Office
Regional Manager: Mike Simpson
104-197 2nd Avenue North
Williams Lake, BC V2G 1Z5
Tel: (250) 392-1400
Fax: (250) 305-1004
Email: msimpson@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Kristy Alphonse-Palmantier
Ervin Charleyboy
John Massier
Marie Mervyn
Bob Patterson
Regional Boundaries
The boundaries of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Region are based primarily on watersheds, including the Quesnel, West Road/Blackwater, Chilcotin, and Bridge-Seton watersheds as well as part of the Middle Fraser River. The region includes all the major communities in the Cariboo Regional District (CRD).
Major Sustainability Issues in the Region
Major sustainability issues facing the region include dependence on single industries and the need for more economic diversification, growth management, access to health care, effective transportation links, improving aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations, and forest devastation from the Mountain Pine beetle epidemic.
Ranch near Williams Lake
Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional FBC Programs
Go to Cariboo-Chilcotin Region for information
on the regional programs.
See also: Basin Wide Programs
Major Watersheds
Middle Fraser
Bridge-Seton
Quesnel
Chilcotin
West Road-Blackwater
Chilcotin Mountains
Communities in the Region
100 Mile House
Alexis Creek
Horsefly/Likely
Lac La Hache
Quesnel
Wells/Barkerville
Williams Lake
Major Economic Activities
Agriculture
Fishing
Forestry and Forest Products Manufacturing
Mining
Pulp & Paper
Ranching
Tourism & Recreation
Williams Lake
General Description of the Region
The Cariboo-Chilcotin Region is the largest region in the Fraser Basin, occupying almost 80,000 sq km of spectacular countryside. Located in the BC Central Interior, the region straddles Highway 97 from 70 Mile House in the south to 5 km south of Hixon in the north, from the Cariboo Mountains in the east to the Coast Mountains in the west. The region is divided roughly in half. The Cariboo, or eastern half of the region, refers to the Interior Plateau spreading east of the Fraser River to the Cariboo Mountains. The area to the west of the Fraser is called the Chilcotin.
The region is renowned for its varied topography, abundant wildlife and spectacular landscapes – from rolling fields to craggy peaks, rainforests to grasslands. The population of the region is approximately 70,000 people, or 3% of the total population of the Fraser Basin. Major communities include Quesnel, 100 Mile House and Williams Lake – the largest city in the region with a population of 15,000.
The name Cariboo seems to have originated in about 1860 as a reference to the Woodland Caribou found in the area. The topography varies from the open ranges of the Fraser benchlands through the undulating pine and spruce forests of the Quesnel Highlands to mountain peaks soaring over 2,500 metres. The climate is generally warm and dry in the summer; winters may be cold with clear blue skies and snow-covered ground.
The Chilcotin Plateau spreads west 300 km from the Fraser River to the Coast Mountains. The name comes from the Tsilhqot'in or Chilcotin First Nation who live in the region. To the north the plateau merges into the Nechako Plateau; to the south it is bounded by the Bridge River country. Because it lies in the lee of the Coast Mountains that block the flow of moisture-laden Pacific air, the Chilcotin has a drier climate than the coast and experiences greater extremes of temperature, with ranges from the occasional -40°C in winter to more than 30°C in summer. The land is undulating grassland and forests dominated by Lodgepole Pine. The plateau drains east into the Fraser via the Chilcotin River (235 km) and its tributaries.
The Cariboo-Chilcotin is well known for its rich Gold Rush history, authentic western lifestyle and rugged individualism. In addition to its historic towns like Barkerville, Wells, Horsefly, Likely and 100 Mile House, the region boasts spectacular scenery and myriad outdoor adventure opportunities. From horseback riding in the Chilcotin Mountains, to canoeing on Bowron Lakes, backpacking in Wells Gray Park, whitewater rafting on the Chilko River, cross-country skiing near 100 Mile House or working with real cowboys at a dude ranch in the Cariboo, the region has it all.
Historically, the region depended on the land, with furs, minerals, timber and ranching being the mainstays of the economy. Today, forestry is the dominant industry in the region; ranching, agriculture and mining are also major economic sectors. Tourism focused on the region's gold rush history, spectacular scenery and outdoor recreational opportunities is playing an increasingly important role.
Barkerville Street
History of the Region
Although territories overlap, the northern part of the Cariboo region is generally the traditional territory of the Dakelh or Carrier people, the middle and southern area the territory of the Secwepemc or Shuswap, and west of the Fraser, the traditional territory of the Tsilhqot'in or Chilcotin.
Fur traders were active in the region, but it was really the search for gold that attracted the first influx of outsiders. Discoveries were made in the creeks and mountains east of Quesnel beginning in 1859 and peaking in 1865. Barkerville, the Cariboo's largest gold rush community, has been restored as a provincial historic site.
Early prospectors followed the Fur Brigade trails until the Cariboo Wagon Road was built from Yale to the goldfields in 1863, pioneering a route along the Fraser River that was subsequently largely followed by Highway 97. The cattle industry developed with the gold rush and became the principal activity when gold mining waned. The Cariboo is still considered "cattle country" and many of the original ranches remain in business. The Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) Railway from the coast to Quesnel was completed in 1920. Since the 1950s, the forest industry has dominated the economy. Major manufacturing facilities are located in Williams Lake, 100 Mile House and Quesnel, producing lumber, plywood, oriented strand board and pulp. Many related manufacturing enterprises also exist.
Cariboo Wagon Road
The Chilcotin region has had a different history in which neither the fur trade nor the gold rush played as important a role as they did in the Cariboo. The Chilcotin is the traditional territory of the Tsilhquot'in First Nation. The people lived in small groups, moving seasonally to favourite hunting and fishing spots. In 1793, Alexander Mackenzie crossed the north end of the region in 1793 on his way to the Pacific. In 1808 Simon Fraser introduced the fur trade to the area and the Hudson's Bay Company operated Fort Chilcotin from1829 to 1844, although the Tsilhqot'in did not participate in the trade to the same degree that many other First Nations did.
With the gold rush, a pack trail opened across Tsilhqot'in territory and contact with outsiders increased. In 1864, unfriendly relations between aboriginals and miners flared into the so-called Chilcotin War. Following this episode some of the Tsilhqot'in were moved to reserves; other reserves were allotted between 1887 and 1904.
70 Mile House
The Chilcotin Plateau remained isolated from the rest of the province until European and other settlers began arriving in the early 1870s, principally ranchers attracted by the vast stretches of grassland. Ranching remained the major economic activity in the region until the 1960s. Since then forestry has become the largest industry, followed by ranching and agriculture. Tourism and recreation is playing an increasingly important role.
Information in this section is adapted, in part, from the Encyclopedia of British Columbia.