The Fraser River (New Westminster)
June 1998
The Canadian Heritage Rivers System
THE FRASER RIVER
Many millions of salmon each year return to the Fraser: more than any other river system in the world. As the longest river in British Columbia, the Fraser traces a remarkable 1375 km course from the Continental Divide to Vancouver, Canada’s largest port on the Pacific coast. While Simon Fraser’s 1808 descent opened the Pacific slope to the fur trade and Canadian settlement, for centuries the Fraser has sustained First Nations, providing food transportation and a strong social, cultural and spiritual focus. Racing from the Rocky Mountain Trench to the deep valleys or the Interior Plateau, boiling through Hell’s Gate Canyon to the Coast Mountains and fanning through the rich wetlands of the Fraser Delta into the Strait of Georgia, the Fraser and its tributaries drain one-third of the province to make a spectacularly scenic home for two-thirds of the people of British Columbia.
Designation of the entire Fraser River to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System is a monumental achievement. Many individuals and organizations, including the B.C. Heritages Rivers Board and the Fraser Basin Council have worked for public recognition of the Fraser’s many nationally significant heritage values. Commemoration of the Fraser as a Canadian Heritage River will continue to support and compliment the sound stewardship of one of Canada’s greatest river systems.
Attribution: Jennie Eggleston