Mission Ridge (British Columbia)
Encyclopedia
Mission Ridge, also known as Mission Mountain, is a ridge
in the Bridge River
-Lillooet Country
of the South-Central Interior of British Columbia
, Canada
, extending westward from the town of Lillooet
along the north side of Seton Lake
to Mission Pass
, which is immediately above and to the north of the lakeside community of Shalalth. The road over the pass is also known as Mission Mountain, which is short for "Mission Mountain Road". Mission Creek lies on the north side of the pass, and is a tributary of the Bridge River
, the lower reaches of which lie on the north side of the ridge, and which was the only road access into the upper Bridge River Country
before the construction of a road through the Bridge River Canyon in the mid-1950s opened that region up to road access from the lower Bridge River valley and the town of Lillooet via the community or Moha
. Most, or virtually all, of the ridge, is Indian Reserves, notably Slosh 1, under the administration of the Seton Lake Indian Band, and Bridge River 1, which is under the administration of the Bridge River Indian Band
. Parts of the ridge's eastern end are in reserves controlled by the Lillooet Indian Band, including its final spires above Lillooet, which were dubbed St. Mary's Mount by the Reverend Lundin Brown in the 1860s, though that name never stuck and is ungazetted.
Mission at Shalalth. Originally the ridge, which is about 20 km in length, was referred to as Mission Mountain but as another Mission Mountain was already recorded in British Columbia (on the Tsimpsean Peninsula near Prince Rupert
) and the term refers really more to a small mountain range than to any one specific summit, the term Mission Ridge was coined in 1931 for official purposes. The British Columbia Geographic Names Information System places the coordinates of the ridge on Mission Peak, which is the westerly of the ridge's three main summits and is labelled on the provincial basemap as such. The other two summits are conjointly referred to as Mount McLean, with the actually-highest of the pair being officially unnamed because it is invisible from the lake and other viewpoints for the ridge (the highest summit is only visible from the Fountain-Pavilion stretch of BC Highway 99
), and from Moha. Mount McLean is named for Donald McLean
of the Hudson's Bay Company
and a casualty of the Chilcotin War
.
(the summit viewable from that point is the lower of the two Mount McLeans). There are numerous small ponds on the ridge, including Moon Lake which is in one of the high alpine basins of the ridge, which is mostly meadow or tundra, although its south face above Seton Lake is extremely steep and includes extremely high bluffs and debris chutes towering over the eastern end of the lake. The ridge's northwestern side forms the southeast rim of the Bridge River Canyon, which extends from the area of Terzaghi Dam
(originally known as Mission Dam) to Moha. The ridge's very far eastern end forms the north wall of the short canyon connecting the foot of Seton Lake and merging with the canyon of Cayoosh Creek
known historically as Nkoomptch, or the Nkoomptch ("water crossing over"). An extension fo the ridge west of the pass ends at Nosebag Mountain. To the west of Nosebag and Whitecap Creek, which runs south of it to join the Seton River
in Seton Portage, is the Bendor Range
.
, which is the most easterly of the Chilcotin Ranges
. The ridge is properly part of the Pacific Ranges
.
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
in the Bridge River
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...
-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...
of the South-Central Interior of British Columbia
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, extending westward from 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,...
along the north side of Seton Lake
Seton Lake
Seton Lake is a freshwater fjord draining east via the Seton River into the Fraser River at the town of Lillooet, British Columbia, about 22 km long and 243 m in elevation and 26.2 square kilometres in area...
to Mission Pass
Mission Pass
Mission Pass is an historic mountain pass in the Bridge River-Lillooet Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, around west of Lillooet, towards the west end of Seton Lake....
, which is immediately above and to the north of the lakeside community of Shalalth. The road over the pass is also known as Mission Mountain, which is short for "Mission Mountain Road". Mission Creek lies on the north side of the pass, and is a tributary of the Bridge River
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)...
, the lower reaches of which lie on the north side of the ridge, and which was the only road access into the upper 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...
before the construction of a road through the Bridge River Canyon in the mid-1950s opened that region up to road access from the lower Bridge River valley and the town of Lillooet via the community or Moha
Moha, British Columbia
Moha is a rural locality located at the confluence of the Bridge and Yalakom Rivers, 30 km northwest of Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. The name derives from that of a rock formation on the north bank of the Yalakom River overlooking the confluence, meaning "land of plenty" and which...
. Most, or virtually all, of the ridge, is Indian Reserves, notably Slosh 1, under the administration of the Seton Lake Indian Band, and Bridge River 1, which is under the administration of the Bridge River Indian Band
Bridge River Indian Band
The Bridge River Indian Band also known as the Nxwísten First Nation, the Xwisten First Nation, and the Bridge River Band, is a First Nations government located in the Central Interior-Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia...
. Parts of the ridge's eastern end are in reserves controlled by the Lillooet Indian Band, including its final spires above Lillooet, which were dubbed St. Mary's Mount by the Reverend Lundin Brown in the 1860s, though that name never stuck and is ungazetted.
Name origin
The name derives from the former OblateOblate
An oblate spheroid is a rotationally symmetric ellipsoid having a polar axis shorter than the diameter of the equatorial circle whose plane bisects it. Oblate spheroids stand in contrast to prolate spheroids....
Mission at Shalalth. Originally the ridge, which is about 20 km in length, was referred to as Mission Mountain but as another Mission Mountain was already recorded in British Columbia (on the Tsimpsean Peninsula near Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
) and the term refers really more to a small mountain range than to any one specific summit, the term Mission Ridge was coined in 1931 for official purposes. The British Columbia Geographic Names Information System places the coordinates of the ridge on Mission Peak, which is the westerly of the ridge's three main summits and is labelled on the provincial basemap as such. The other two summits are conjointly referred to as Mount McLean, with the actually-highest of the pair being officially unnamed because it is invisible from the lake and other viewpoints for the ridge (the highest summit is only visible from the Fountain-Pavilion stretch of BC Highway 99
British Columbia provincial highway 99
Highway 99, also known as the Sea to Sky Highway, the Squamish Highway, Route 99, or Whistler Highway, is the major north-south artery running through the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia from the U.S. border, up Howe Sound through the Sea to Sky Country to Lillooet, and connecting to...
), and from Moha. Mount McLean is named for Donald McLean
Donald McLean (fur trader)
Donald McLean was a Scottish fur trader and explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company and who later became a cattle rancher near Cache Creek in British Columbia's Thompson Country . McLean was the last casualty of the Chilcotin War of 1864...
of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and a casualty 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...
.
Features and access
At the western end of the ridge, on a knoll immediately above Shalalth and just east of the summit of the pass, a microwave station is located, with road access from the pass. A powerline road continues along the ridge, running along its north side from Mission Peak eastwards, but is blocked to through traffic by a landslide in that area. A network of roads extending up from a bridge-crossing of the lower Bridge River between Applespring Creek and Moha ranges up the basin of Camoo Creek, which forms the main north-facing basin of the ridge, which includes lower benchlands near Moha, and connects to a steep descent of the powerline through the basin of Ama Creek to the confluence of the Bridge River with the Fraser at the Bridge River RapidsBridge River Rapids
The Bridge River Rapids, also known as the Six Mile Rapids, the Lower Fountain, the Bridge River Fishing Grounds, and in the St'at'imcets language as Sat or Setl, is a set of rapids on the Fraser River, located in the central Fraser Canyon at the mouth of the Bridge River six miles north of the...
(the summit viewable from that point is the lower of the two Mount McLeans). There are numerous small ponds on the ridge, including Moon Lake which is in one of the high alpine basins of the ridge, which is mostly meadow or tundra, although its south face above Seton Lake is extremely steep and includes extremely high bluffs and debris chutes towering over the eastern end of the lake. The ridge's northwestern side forms the southeast rim of the Bridge River Canyon, which extends from the area of Terzaghi Dam
Terzaghi Dam
Terzaghi Dam, located about 100 km NE of the resort of Whistler, British Columbia in western Canada, is the key diversion dam in the Bridge River Power Project. It forms the project's largest reservoir, Carpenter Lake west of Lillooet...
(originally known as Mission Dam) to Moha. The ridge's very far eastern end forms the north wall of the short canyon connecting the foot of Seton Lake and merging with the canyon of Cayoosh Creek
Cayoosh Creek
Cayoosh Creek is a northeast-flowing tributary of the Seton River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.-Course:Cayoosh Creek flows generally northeast from sources in the eponymous Cayoosh Range north of Cayoosh Pass to join the Seton River at of Lillooet...
known historically as Nkoomptch, or the Nkoomptch ("water crossing over"). An extension fo the ridge west of the pass ends at Nosebag Mountain. To the west of Nosebag and Whitecap Creek, which runs south of it to join the Seton River
Seton River
The Seton River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.-Course:The Seton River originates at the foot of Anderson Lake and runs initially for only 3km to the head of Seton Lake...
in Seton Portage, is the Bendor Range
Bendor Range
The Bendor Range is a small but once-famous subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, about It is approximately 7,000 square kilometres in area and about 40 km long and about 18 km at its widest...
.
Classification
In some references the ridge is referred to as being part of the "Chilcotin Mountains", but these end at the Bridge River, despite a common geological alignment with the Shulaps RangeShulaps Range
The Shulaps Range is a subrange of the Chilcotin Ranges subset of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwest-central British Columbia. The range is 55 km NW–SE and 15 km SW–NE and 2,970 km² in area....
, which is the most easterly of the Chilcotin Ranges
Chilcotin Ranges
The Chilcotin Ranges are a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains . They lie on the inland lea of the Pacific Ranges, abutting the Interior Plateau of British Columbia...
. The ridge is properly part of the Pacific Ranges
Pacific Ranges
The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola, north of which are the Kitimat Ranges.The Pacific Ranges...
.