The natural beauties of the course of the Fraser River (particularly its spectacular canyon section) and the surrounding countryside, however, have remained relatively unspoiled. The river was named after Simon Fraser, who first descended it into the Pacific Ocean in 1808. The Cariboo Gold Rush, which began in 1858, took place in the Fraser River basin.
 |
| Fraser River |
Fraser River Basin
From its source in Yellowhead Lake on the British Columbia-Alberta border, the Fraser flows 851 miles (1,370 km) to its mouth in the Straits of Georgia. From its origin in the mountain, the river's course is initially towards the northwest, descending by gentle gradients along the trench of the Rocky Mountains (see article: Río Tonalá ).
Near latitude 54 ° N, the river curves sharply south to traverse the interior plateau and then the coastal mountains. The entrenchment and gradients increase progressively downstream, and through the Coast Mountains the raging waters cut through a canyon approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) deep.
 |
| Fraser River |
Below this canyon, the Fraser turns west to flow placidly through a floodplain to its mouth near Vancouver, BC The Thompson River, which enters the Fraser about 145 miles (235 km) from its mouth.
It is the most important of the many tributaries, many of which rise into vast mountain lakes. Navigation is important only in the tidal estuary, where New Westminster serves deep-sea ships.
 |
| Fraser River |
Fraser Location
The Fraser River, the main river of western North America, drains a huge and picturesque region of approximately 92,000 square miles (238,000 square km) in central British Columbia. About 70 percent of the drained region is over 3,000 feet (900 m) high, and human exploitation of this rather isolated area has been relatively recent (see article: Rio Papagayo ).
Economy
The economy of the Fraser River Basin is based primarily on forestry. Coniferous forests cover most of the interior plateau, except for the dry valleys to the south, which are covered with narrow strips of grass on the lower slopes (see article: Rio Ameca ).
Before 1940 small sawmills cut some wood along the three railway lines that crossed the basin. However, after 1950, the northward extension of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (later called the British Columbia Railway).
 |
| Fraser River |
And improved road facilities increased access to forests and the merger of smaller companies, along with the introduction of pulp mills, chips and small trees, increased the use of forest resources.
Forest products are transported to Vancouver to go to foreign markets or brought east by rail to central Canada and the Midwest of the United States. The turbulent Fraser River itself is not used in the forestry industry, even for transporting logs to sawmills.
Agriculture has not developed much within the river basin, except for ranching in the grasslands and upper-level parks on the Chilcotin Plateau, west of the Fraser River, and the Nicola Valley, south of the Thompson River.
Cattle ranching was established in the 1860s to supply gold mining fields and then, after gold mining declined, to supply meat to the growing city of Vancouver.
The Fraser River is the main producer of salmon in British Columbia, and its tributaries and water lakes are the spawning grounds for several species of salmon. These salmon ascend the river in late summer to spawn and then go downstream the following year to spend the next two to three years in the ocean (see article: Rio Sava ).
 |
| Fraser River |
Due to these migratory habits, salmon fishing takes place mainly off the mouth of the Fraser River, and only the Indians have fishing rights in the river basin itself. Hydroelectric exploitation of the river system may eventually threaten salmon migration.
Fraser River Salmon
The Fraser River and its tributaries are home to one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world, home to five species of Pacific salmon: sockeye, coho, chum, chinook and rose salmon. Salmon eggs hatch in fresh water, but salmon spend most of their life in the ocean before migrating upstream to spawn.
Numerous species of fish are found in the river, such as rainbow and brook trout, river and Pacific lamprey, eulachon, surf and long-finned urchin, northern white carp, peony minnow, red-hoofed woodpecker, the long-nosed carp, various species of suckers, and the spiny carp.