Fraser Canyon

The Fraser Canyon is a stretch of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock crevices in the Coast Mountains enroute from the interior plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley.

Related Topics:
Fraser River - Coast Mountains - British Columbia - Fraser Valley

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The Canyon was formed during the Miocene period (23.7-5.3 million years ago) by the river cutting into the uplifting interior plateau. At the mouth of the Canyon, an archeological site documents the presence of the people in the area from the early Holocene period, 8,000 to 10,000 years ago after the retreat of the Fraser Glacier.

Related Topics:
Miocene - Holocene - Fraser Glacier

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Extending 270 km north of Yale, it is a major transportation corridor to the interior, with the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways and the Trans Canada Highway carved out of its rock faces. At Hell's Gate, south of Lytton, the canyon walls rise about 1000 m above the rapids. Fish ladders along the river's side permit migrating salmon to bypass a rockslide that diverted the river.

Related Topics:
Yale - Canadian National - Canadian Pacific - Trans Canada Highway - Hell's Gate - Salmon

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