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Contact Us
Thompson Regional Office
#200A – 1383 McGill Road
Kamloops, BC V2C 6K7
Tel: (250) 314-9660
Fax: (250) 828-2597
Regional Manager: Mike Simpson
msimpson@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Assistant Regional Manager: Erin Vieira
evieira@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Regional Directors
Deborah Abbott
Marty Bootsma
Herman Halvorson
Gary John
George Saddleman
Dr. Bob Smillie (retired)
John Taylor
Regional Boundaries
The boundaries of the Thompson Region are based primarily on watersheds, including the North and South Thompson, Thompson/Nicola and Bridge-Seton watersheds as well as part of the rugged Fraser Canyon. The region includes all communities in the Thomson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD), as well as a number of communities located in the eastern section of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), and the western portions of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and the North Okanagan Regional District (NORD).
Adams River. Photo: Lisa De Goes
Major Sustainability Issues in the Region
Major sustainability issues facing the region include habitat loss, growth management, dependence on single industries and the need for more economic diversification, loss of agricultural land, the impacts of invasive or non-native plant species, water usage and deteriorating water quality in some lakes, improving aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations, and closure of the Highland Valley Copper Mine and the resulting loss of jobs in the region.
Thompson Regional FBC Programs
Go to Thompson Region for information on
the regional programs.
See also: Basin Wide Programs
Houseboating on Shuswap Lake
Major Watersheds
Adams
Bridge-Seton
Clearwater
Bonaparte
Coldwater/Nicola
Eagle
Nahatlatch
North Thompson
Salmon
Shuswap
South Thompson
Stein
View near Cache Creek
Communities in the Region
Ashcroft
Barriere
Blue River
Cache Creek
Chase
Clearwater
Clinton
Kamloops
Lillooet
Logan Lake
Lytton
Merritt
Salmon Arm
Sicamous
Major Economic Activities
Agriculture
Construction
Education & Training
Fishing
Forestry and Forest Products Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Mining
Pulp & Paper
Ranching
Retail
Tourism & Recreation
Transportation
View of Kamloops
General Description of the Region
The FBC Thompson Region extends from Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon north to Gold Bridge and Albreeda, east through Kamloops and the Shuswap Lake area to Three Valley Gap, and south to Aspen Grove and the Coquihalla toll booths. The Region is known for its rich history, varied geography, abundant wildlife and diversified economy. It occupies almost 50,000 sq km of spectacular countryside – from deep forest with white water rivers to semi-arid, desert-like terrain and rolling grasslands. The area enjoys on average 2048 hours of sunshine annually. The Region has a population of approximately 135,000 people, or 5% of the total population of the Fraser Basin. Communities include Kamloops, Merritt, Ashcroft, Clearwater, Salmon Arm, Enderby, Lumby, Lytton and Lillooet.
Kamloops – the largest city in the region and one of the ten most affordable cities in North America – has a diverse local economy based on forest industries, highway and rail services, mining, agriculture, regional trade, financial and other services, education and training, manufacturing, tourism and recreation. A variety of international corporations are located in Kamloops along with numerous federal and provincial governments services and organizations. The University College of the Cariboo (UCC), located in Kamloops, is a degree granting university/college with an enrollment of over 8,000 full and part-time students.
Historically, the region depended on the land, with furs, minerals, timber and ranching being the mainstays of the economy. Today tourism, transportation, high-technology, and financial and professional services are the emerging industries. Mining, highway services and forest industries now employ more residents than do farming and ranching in the Ashcroft area. In and around Merritt, forestry, mining and agriculture are the leading industries. The Shuswap area has become a tourist mecca with visitors from around the world enjoying houseboating and other water-based activities. In the North Thompson, forest industries predominate, with highway transport a fast-growing sector. Tourism plays a significant role throughout the region.
CPR Train down Main St. Kamloops
History of the Region
The Thompson Region is named after the Thompson River – the longest tributary of the Fraser River – that drains a 55,827 sq km watershed in central BC and contributes 25% of the waters of the Fraser. The Thompson River itself 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. For most of this distance the CNR and Highway 5 run parallel to the river. At Kamloops, the north branch merges with the South Thompson (161 km) flowing in from Shuswap Lake on the east, and the combined river flows west from Kamloops Lake through arid grasslands for 169 km to the Fraser River.
Kamloops waterfront
The community of Lytton overlooks the confluence of the rivers; the ancient aboriginal village of Kumsheen once occupied the site. The local First Nations knew the river as "Ntekw Tekw" or "Muddy Water." At this end the Thompson flows through the traditional territory of the Nlaka'pamux, or Thompson First Nations. Just east of Kamloops is the territory of the Secwepemc, or Shuswap First Nations. For both groups, the river provides the salmon that have been an important part of their culture and way of life for centuries.
Historically, commerce in the Thompson Region has depended upon natural resources – furs, minerals and timber – and on ranching. Fur traders arrived in the area in 1811 and built a trading post near the present site of Kamloops. With the signing of the Oregon Boundary Treaty of 1846, the HBC found itself excluded from territory south of the 49th parallel and it needed a new route for its fur brigades – pack trains carrying bales of pelts – to replace a route down the Okanagan and Columbia Rivers. Alexander Anderson was sent to find a way from Fort Kamloops to Fort Langley that would not require passage through the dangerous Fraser Canyon. He found the Coquihalla Trail and a route via Seton, Anderson and Harrison Lakes that proved unsuitable because of its many portages. Finally he identified what became known as the HBC Horse Road, high above the Fraser Canyon between Spuzzum and Hell's Gate.
Branding cattle in the Thompson
Fur traders in the Thompson were followed by prospectors during the gold rush, then ranchers, who recognized that the rolling grasslands were ideal for grazing cattle. The area, and particularly Kamloops, boomed with the construction of the CPR in the South Thompson Valley during the 1880s. Kamloops became a major rail centre and cattle town.
Ashcroft, Clearwater, Blue River, Clinton and Merritt all trace their origins to the days of the gold rush. Merritt was also a station on a fur trade route and then developed as a cattle ranching centre. Mining soon followed and several active mines supplied coal to the Kettle Valley Railroad. Logan Lake has strong ties to natural resources – in 1970, mining companies initiated construction of housing and support facilities to develop the town for mineworkers and families.
Information in this section is adapted, in part, from the Encyclopedia of British Columbia.