About the Thompson Region

The Thompson Region boasts a rich history, diverse landscapes and modern amenities.

Spanning 56,000 square km across BC’s southern Interior, FBC’s Thompson region is defined primarily by watershed boundaries. On this basis, the region encompasses the North Thompson, South Thompson, Thompson/Nicola and Bridge-Seton watersheds as well as part of the Fraser Canyon. From the standpoint of regional district boundaries, it includes the Thomson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD); some communities in the eastern Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD); the western portions of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD); and communities such as Lumby in the northern part of the North Okanagan Regional District (NORD).

See the regional district websites to learn about the regions, strategies and sustainability initiatives.

Communities

Municipalities of the Thompson include Ashcroft, Barriere, Blue River, Cache Creek, Chase, Clearwater, Clinton, Enderby, Kamloops, Lillooet, Logan Lake, Lumby, Lytton, Merritt, Salmon Arm, Sicamous and Sun Peaks.

The Thompson Region is the traditional territory and the home to Aboriginal peoples of the Nle?kepmxc'in, Secwepemcstin (Shuswap), Statimcets (Lillooet) and Okanagan language groups. First Nations in the region include Ashcroft, Boothroyd, Cook's Ferry, Kanaka Bar, Lytton, Nicomen, Oregon Jack Creek, Siska, Skuppah, Upper Nicola, Adams Lake, Bonaparte, Little Shuswap Lake, Neskonlith, Simpcw First Nation, Skeetchestn, Spallumcheen, Splats’in, Tk'emlups te Secwepemc, Whispering Pines, Cayoose Creek, Seton Lake, Coldwater, Lower Nicola, Nooaitch, Shackan, High Bar, N'Quatqua, Bridge River, Ts'kw'aylaxw, T'it'q'et and Xax’lip.

Watersheds

Major watersheds are the South Thompson, North Thompson, Thompson-Nicola and Bridge-Seton. Smaller watershed include the Adams, Clearwater, Bonaparte, Eagle, Nahatlatch, Salmon, Shuswap and Stein. The North and South Thompson rivers converge at Kamloops and flow into Kamloops Lake. The combined Thompson River is the Fraser River’s largest tributary, draining into the Fraser at Lytton.

Also see About the Basin.

Photos courtesy of Picture BC

Economy

Kamloops is the largest city and hub of the region’s diverse economy, which is based on forest industries, mining, agriculture, regional trade, education and training, manufacturing and tourism, including sport tourism. Transportation and logistics, bio-energy, technology, and financial, professional, health and public services are also important to the economy.

For a look at recent developments in different sectors, visit Venture Kamloops.

Sustainability Indicators

FBC works with a number of partners across the Thompson region on a range of social, economic and environmental issues.

To offer decision-makers in all sectors helpful data, FBC also regularly publishes sustainability indicators reports. You can find some regional highlights in our 2009 Sustainability Snapshot.