Chilcotin District
Encyclopedia
The Chilcotin District of British Columbia
is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia
on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains
on the west side of the Fraser River
. Chilcotin is also the name of the river draining that region. In the language of the Chilcotin people
their name and the name of the river means "people of the red ochre river" (its tributary the Chilko River
means "red ochre river")
The Chilcotin district is often viewed as an extension of the Cariboo District
, east of that river, although it has a distinct identity from the Cariboo District. The vast majority of the population are First Nations
people, members of the Tsilhqot'in
and Dakelh
peoples, while others are non-native settlers and ranchers.
, but also includes several fjord-like lakes which verge from the plateau into the base of the mountains. The largest of the lakes in the region is Chilko Lake
, which feeds the Chilko River
, the main tributary of the Chilcotin River
. Other major lakes are Tatlayoko Lake (ˈ ) and Taseko Lake (t ); the area of the lakes, in the southern part of the district, is now the Ts'il?os Provincial Park
, also known as the Xeni Gwet'in Wilderness after the Xeni Gwet'in
, the local subdivision of the Tsilhqot'in people) and are also known as the Stony Chilcotin, who were also instrumental in the campaign for that area's preservation.
The forested plateau area just northeast of the park, between the Chilko River and Taseko River
s, is known as the Brittany Triangle and is currently under hot dispute between preservationists and logging interests. East of the Ts'il?os Provincial Park is Big Creek Provincial Park
and the Churn Creek Protected Area
, while to the southeast is the Spruce Lake Protected Area
aka "the South Chilcotin", which despite its nickname is mostly in the Bridge River Country
, part of the Lillooet Country
and not part of the Chilcotin Country, which begins at the protected area's northern and northwestern borders.
and Paul St. Pierre; the latter was formerly Member of Parliament
for Coast Chilcotin
and a noted Vancouver
journalist. St. Pierre's writing encapsulated Chilcotin folklore and daily life and are written in a crisp, ironic and often humorous style; the best-known is Smith and Other Events and Cariboo Cowboy, while Stowe's writings focus on the wildlife of the area on the western rim of the district, adjacent to Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
. His Crusoe of Lonesome Lake is about early settler Ralph Edwards
and his work protecting the trumpeter swan
s which migrate through the region; Edwards' own volume Ralph Edwards of Lonesome Lake parallels Stowe's account, and the book Ruffles On My Longjohns by his sister-in-law Isabel Edwards documents her tribulations as the wilderness wife of a wildlife advocate.
Another notable book from more recent times are Chiwid by Sage Birchwater of Tatlayoko Lake, documenting eyewitness reminiscences of a First Nations
eccentric-cum-spirit person, Lilly Skinner, and Nemaia: the Unconquered Country by Terry Glavin
, which recounts the story of the Chilcotin War
of 1864 and the flavour of the Nemaia Valley today (the Nemaia is the main residence of the Xeni Gwetin, who were the main instigators of the war).
Edwards's cabin, and the trumpeter habitat, are world heritage sites although his cabin was burned out in large forest fires in the summer of 2004.
Another Chilcotin author is Ted "Chilco" Choate, a hunting guide at Gaspard Lake in the southeastern part of the district who writes about animals, hunters and the wilderness lifestyle. Choate is one of the main advocates for combining the Tweedsmuir, Ts'il?os, Spruce Lake/South Chilcotin, Big Creek and Churn Creek wilderness areas into one large national park spanning the Coast Mountains
and plateau between the Fraser
and the spine of the Coast Mountains
.
, which have contributed to the bloodlines of domesticated horses in the regions, including a variety known as the cayuse
pony or, in some local spellings, cayoosh (the old name for the town of Lillooet
, which lies just outside the Chilcotin to the southeast, near where the plateau meets the Fraser River
.
Still "controlled" today due to their competition for forage with cattle herds, they were once so overpopulated — even before put into competition with the feed demands of large-scale ranching — that a high bounty was set on them and they were hunted out, and nearly exterminated. They are believed to be stock brought in during gold rush times, as according to contemporary records the Chilcotins did not have horses until then. Author and guide-outfitter Chilco Choate, however, points out that forage patterns and the adaptation of the breed to the area, it is more likely that they entered the area, already wild prior to domestication by local natives and being perhaps offshoots of the large horseherds acquired by the Okanagan
and Nez Perce and other plateau peoples several decades before. Despite their controlled status, their population survives today, though imperilled by expansion of ranching and logging.
The area is accessed by Highway 20, which runs from the port town of Bella Coola
, at the head of South Bentinck Arm, a coastal fjord
piercing into the heart of the Coast Mountains
, across the mountains and plateau to the city of Williams Lake
, the principal town of the south Cariboo
. Near Highway 20 in the southern end of Tweedsmuir Park
is Hunlen Falls, at 1226 feet (373.7 m) one of Canada's highest, plunging into a deep canyon that makes measurement difficult.
and Hanceville
, which are all First Nations communities. Other communities in the Chilcotin are Towdystan
, Nimpo Lake
, Nemaia Valley, Tatla Lake
, and Tatlayoko Lake, though settlers (usually small ranchers and owners and staff of small resorts) are scattered across the backcountry. There is a Canadian Forces artillery and tactics range
on the eastern edge of the plateau, in the vicinity of old Fort Chilcotin
(this land was originally set aside for military purposes following the Chilcotin War).
, once the world's largest and still among the major beef suppliers in British Columbia
. "The Gang" dates from the 1860s and covers nearly all terrain south of the Chilcotin River
and east of Taseko Lake and the Fraser River
, and skirting the Bridge River Country
to its south. The vast terrain of the Gang Ranch is more wilderness than pasture, It is a mix of natural plateau and alpine meadowland and vast forests and swamps. The Gang verges up into the foothill area of the northeastern flank of the Coast Mountains
as they approach the Fraser River
from the west, meeting the Fraser
between the Gang Ranch's main house and the town of Lillooet
.
Similar ranching conditions are found from the Burns Lake
and Smithers
area in northwestern Interior BC
all the way south to the US border, including the famous Douglas Lake Ranch south of Kamloops
, but the Gang is by far the largest, and the most wild in character.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
on the west side of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. Chilcotin is also the name of the river draining that region. In the language of the Chilcotin people
Chilcotin language
Chilcotin is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia by the Tsilhqot’in people....
their name and the name of the river means "people of the red ochre river" (its tributary the Chilko River
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
means "red ochre river")
The Chilcotin district is often viewed as an extension of the Cariboo District
Cariboo
The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...
, east of that river, although it has a distinct identity from the Cariboo District. The vast majority of the population are First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people, members of the Tsilhqot'in
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
and Dakelh
Dakelh
The Dakelh or Carrier are the indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada.Most Carrier call themselves Dakelh, meaning "people who go around by boat"...
peoples, while others are non-native settlers and ranchers.
Geography
The Chilcotin district is mostly a wide, high plateau, stretching from the mountains to the Fraser RiverFraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, but also includes several fjord-like lakes which verge from the plateau into the base of the mountains. The largest of the lakes in the region is Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake is a 180 km² lake in west-central British Columbia, at the head of the Chilko River on the Chilcotin Plateau. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the...
, which feeds the Chilko River
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
, the main tributary of the Chilcotin River
Chilcotin River
The Chilcotin River is a long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia, Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains...
. Other major lakes are Tatlayoko Lake (ˈ ) and Taseko Lake (t ); the area of the lakes, in the southern part of the district, is now the Ts'il?os Provincial Park
Ts'il?os Provincial Park
Ts'il?os Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Ts'il?os is the official BC Parks designation for this provincial park, though sometimes it is written as "Ts'il-os", "Ts'yl-os", or "Tsylos"...
, also known as the Xeni Gwet'in Wilderness after the Xeni Gwet'in
Xeni Gwet'in
The Xeni Gwet'in, also known as the Stone Chilcotin, are a First Nations people whose traditional territory is located in the southern Chilcotin District of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the inland flank of the Coast Mountains west of the Fraser River...
, the local subdivision of the Tsilhqot'in people) and are also known as the Stony Chilcotin, who were also instrumental in the campaign for that area's preservation.
The forested plateau area just northeast of the park, between the Chilko River and Taseko River
Taseko River
The Taseko River , or Desiqox in the original Chilcotin, is a tributary of British Columbia's Chilko River, a tributary of the Chilcotin River which joins the Fraser near the city of Williams Lake....
s, is known as the Brittany Triangle and is currently under hot dispute between preservationists and logging interests. East of the Ts'il?os Provincial Park is Big Creek Provincial Park
Big Creek Provincial Park
Big Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.It is adjoined on the south by the Spruce Lake Protected Area and on the west by Ts'il?os Provincial Park. Neighbouring on the east is the Churn Creek Protected Area.- References :...
and the Churn Creek Protected Area
Churn Creek Protected Area
The Churn Creek Protected Area, is a provincial protected area in British Columbia, Canada. It is a mix of dryland canyon and steppe and adjoining rangeland flanking the canyon of Churn Creek and that stream's confluence with the Fraser River at the northern apex of the Camelsfoot Range. The...
, while to the southeast is the Spruce Lake Protected Area
Spruce Lake Protected Area
The Spruce Lake Protected Area, was a 71,347-hectare Protected Area in the British Columbia provincial parks system 200 km north of Vancouver. The area had been the subject of an ongoing preservationist controversy since the 1930s. Formerly known variously as the Southern Chilcotin Mountains...
aka "the South Chilcotin", which despite its nickname is mostly in the Bridge River Country
Bridge River Country
The Bridge River Country is a historic geographic region and mining district in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, lying between the Fraser Canyon and the valley of the Lillooet River, south of the Chilcotin Plateau and north of the Lillooet Ranges...
, part of the Lillooet Country
Lillooet Country
The Lillooet Country, also referred to as the Lillooet District., is a region spanning from the central Fraser Canyon town of Lillooet west to the valley of the Lillooet River, and including the valleys in between, in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Like other historical BC regions, it...
and not part of the Chilcotin Country, which begins at the protected area's northern and northwestern borders.
Literary contributions
Despite its small population and isolation, the region has produced a small but very readable literature mixing naturalism with native and settler cultures and memoirs. The most well-known Chilcotin authors are Leland StoweLeland Stowe
Leland Stowe was a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist noted for being one of the first to recognize the expansionist character of the German Nazi regime.- Biography :...
and Paul St. Pierre; the latter was formerly Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Coast Chilcotin
Coast Chilcotin
Coast Chilcotin was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979. It was located in the province of British Columbia.- Geography :...
and a noted Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
journalist. St. Pierre's writing encapsulated Chilcotin folklore and daily life and are written in a crisp, ironic and often humorous style; the best-known is Smith and Other Events and Cariboo Cowboy, while Stowe's writings focus on the wildlife of the area on the western rim of the district, adjacent to Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Formerly part of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park it was formed from the southern portion of that park, the northern portion being redesignated Tweedsmuir North Provincial Park and Protected Area in order to allow...
. His Crusoe of Lonesome Lake is about early settler Ralph Edwards
Ralph Edwards (homesteader)
Ralph Edwards was a pioneering British Columbian homesteader and leading conservationist of the trumpeter swan. He received the Order of Canada in 1972 for his conservation efforts, and is the namesake of the Edwards Range mountains...
and his work protecting the trumpeter swan
Trumpeter Swan
The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...
s which migrate through the region; Edwards' own volume Ralph Edwards of Lonesome Lake parallels Stowe's account, and the book Ruffles On My Longjohns by his sister-in-law Isabel Edwards documents her tribulations as the wilderness wife of a wildlife advocate.
Another notable book from more recent times are Chiwid by Sage Birchwater of Tatlayoko Lake, documenting eyewitness reminiscences of a First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
eccentric-cum-spirit person, Lilly Skinner, and Nemaia: the Unconquered Country by Terry Glavin
Terry Glavin
Terry Glavin is a Canadian author and journalist.Born in the United Kingdom to Irish parents, he emigrated to Canada in 1957. Glavin has worked as a journalist and columnist for The Daily Columbian, The Vancouver Sun, The Globe and Mail, and The Georgia Straight...
, which recounts the story of the Chilcotin War
Chilcotin War
The Chilcotin War, Chilcotin Uprising or Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in people in British Columbia and white road construction workers...
of 1864 and the flavour of the Nemaia Valley today (the Nemaia is the main residence of the Xeni Gwetin, who were the main instigators of the war).
Edwards's cabin, and the trumpeter habitat, are world heritage sites although his cabin was burned out in large forest fires in the summer of 2004.
Another Chilcotin author is Ted "Chilco" Choate, a hunting guide at Gaspard Lake in the southeastern part of the district who writes about animals, hunters and the wilderness lifestyle. Choate is one of the main advocates for combining the Tweedsmuir, Ts'il?os, Spruce Lake/South Chilcotin, Big Creek and Churn Creek wilderness areas into one large national park spanning the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
and plateau between the Fraser
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
and the spine of the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
.
Wild horses
The Chilcotin is also known for its large population of mustang horsesMustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
, which have contributed to the bloodlines of domesticated horses in the regions, including a variety known as the cayuse
Cayuse
The Cayuse are a Native American tribe in the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation...
pony or, in some local spellings, cayoosh (the old name for the town of Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
, which lies just outside the Chilcotin to the southeast, near where the plateau meets the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
.
Still "controlled" today due to their competition for forage with cattle herds, they were once so overpopulated — even before put into competition with the feed demands of large-scale ranching — that a high bounty was set on them and they were hunted out, and nearly exterminated. They are believed to be stock brought in during gold rush times, as according to contemporary records the Chilcotins did not have horses until then. Author and guide-outfitter Chilco Choate, however, points out that forage patterns and the adaptation of the breed to the area, it is more likely that they entered the area, already wild prior to domestication by local natives and being perhaps offshoots of the large horseherds acquired by the Okanagan
Okanogan
Okanogan or Okanagan refers to:*Okanagan people, a Native American or First Nations people, known as the Syilx in their own language*Okanagan languageCanada:*Okanagan , a region of British Columbia...
and Nez Perce and other plateau peoples several decades before. Despite their controlled status, their population survives today, though imperilled by expansion of ranching and logging.
The area is accessed by Highway 20, which runs from the port town of Bella Coola
Bella Coola, British Columbia
Bella Coola is a community of approximately 600 at the western extremity of the Bella Coola Valley. Bella Coola usually refers to the entire valley, encompassing the settlements of Bella Coola proper , Lower Bella Coola, Hagensborg, Saloompt, Nusatsum, Firvale and Stuie...
, at the head of South Bentinck Arm, a coastal fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
piercing into the heart of the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
, across the mountains and plateau to the city of Williams Lake
Williams Lake, British Columbia
Williams Lake, is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo, it is the largest urban centre between Kamloops and Prince George, with a population of 11,150 in city limits....
, the principal town of the south Cariboo
Cariboo District
Cariboo District was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1872....
. Near Highway 20 in the southern end of Tweedsmuir Park
Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Formerly part of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park it was formed from the southern portion of that park, the northern portion being redesignated Tweedsmuir North Provincial Park and Protected Area in order to allow...
is Hunlen Falls, at 1226 feet (373.7 m) one of Canada's highest, plunging into a deep canyon that makes measurement difficult.
Settlements and towns
The largest towns in the Chilcotin are Alexis Creek, Anahim LakeAnahim Lake, British Columbia
Anahim Lake is a small community in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its name, and the name of the associated lake, in the Tsilhqot'in language, is Tl'etinqox. The village and surrounding areas have a population of approximately 1500. The Ulkatcho First Nation has 729 living on nearby...
and Hanceville
Hanceville, British Columbia
Hanceville is about 90 km west of Williams Lake in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is the main community the Stone First Nation. It is located southeast of Alexis Creek, on the north side of the Chilcotin River....
, which are all First Nations communities. Other communities in the Chilcotin are Towdystan
Towdystan
Towdystan is an unincorporated settlement and First Nations community of the Dakelh people located northwest of Charlotte Lake in the western Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located southeast of Anahim Lake, the headquarters of the Ulkatcho First Nation...
, Nimpo Lake
Nimpo Lake
Nimpo Lake is a freshwater lake in the Chilcotin District of British Columbia, Canada. It is located 185 miles west of Williams Lake on the Chilcotin Highway and is approx. 100 miles east of Bella Coola...
, Nemaia Valley, Tatla Lake
Tatla Lake, British Columbia
Tatla Lake is a small unincorporated community in the west Chilcotin area of British Columbia, Canada, located at the west end of its eponymous lake...
, and Tatlayoko Lake, though settlers (usually small ranchers and owners and staff of small resorts) are scattered across the backcountry. There is a Canadian Forces artillery and tactics range
Canadian Forces Camp Chilcotin
Canadian Forces Camp Chilcotin is a Canadian Forces training camp in the Chilcotin District, to the west of the city of Williams Lake on the eastern Chilcotin Plateau. It is located in the general vicinity of Fort Chilcotin, a 19th Century outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company whose exact location...
on the eastern edge of the plateau, in the vicinity of old Fort Chilcotin
Fort Chilcotin
Fort Chilcotin was a short-lived trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, located at the confluence of the Chilko and Chilcotin Rivers, British Columbia, Canada. It operated between the years 1836 and 1844...
(this land was originally set aside for military purposes following the Chilcotin War).
The Gang Ranch
Also of major importance in the Chilcotin is the Gang RanchGang Ranch
The Gang Ranch is a famous and historic Canadian ranch in the Chilcotin region of the Central Interior of British Columbia. It is located north of Clinton on the West bank of the Fraser River opposite the Indian Reserve community of Dog Creek. The ranch, near Alkali Lake was founded in 1863...
, once the world's largest and still among the major beef suppliers in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. "The Gang" dates from the 1860s and covers nearly all terrain south of the Chilcotin River
Chilcotin River
The Chilcotin River is a long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia, Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains...
and east of Taseko Lake and the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, and skirting the Bridge River Country
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
to its south. The vast terrain of the Gang Ranch is more wilderness than pasture, It is a mix of natural plateau and alpine meadowland and vast forests and swamps. The Gang verges up into the foothill area of the northeastern flank of the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
as they approach the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
from the west, meeting the Fraser
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
between the Gang Ranch's main house and the town of Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
.
Similar ranching conditions are found from the Burns Lake
Burns Lake, British Columbia
thumb|309px|right|Burns Lake's welcome signBurns Lake is a rural village in the North-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, incorporated in 1923...
and Smithers
Smithers, British Columbia
Smithers is a town located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, approximately halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Smithers is located in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako....
area in northwestern Interior BC
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
all the way south to the US border, including the famous Douglas Lake Ranch south of Kamloops
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...
, but the Gang is by far the largest, and the most wild in character.