The Tulameen River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Similkameen River

Similkameen River

The Similkameen River runs through southern British Columbia, eventually discharging into the Okanogan River near Oroville, Washington in the United States. The river is approximately long, and its drainage basin is in area...

 in the Canadian province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of 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 Tulameen River is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, being a tributary of the Similkameen River, which flows into the Okanagan River, which flows into the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

.

Course

The Tulameen River originates in E. C. Manning Provincial Park

E. C. Manning Provincial Park

E.C. Manning Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is usually referred to as Manning Park, although that nomenclature is also used to refer to the recreational facility and ski area at the park's core as well as the adjacent community...

, in the North Cascades

North Cascades

The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...

 part of the Cascade Range

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...

. it flows generally north then east, passing Tulameen, British Columbia

Tulameen, British Columbia

Tulameen, originally known as Otter Flat, is a small community in British Columbia, Canada, about 26 kilometres northwest of the town of Princeton on the Crowsnest Highway , and about 185 kilometres east-northeast from the city of Vancouver, British Columbia...

 before joining the Similkameen River at Princeton

Princeton, British Columbia

Princeton is a small town in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada. It lies just east of the Cascade Mountains, which continue south into Washington, Oregon and California. The Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers converge here...

. It is the only place in the world where both gold and platinum can be found alongside each other, however all significant deposits have been mined.

Ecology

The watershed holds a number of diverse flora and fauna species. Fauna include mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s, amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s, reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s and birds. Among the amphibians of the watershed is the Rough-skinned newt

Rough-skinned Newt

The rough-skinned newt is a North American newt known for its strong poison.- Toxicity :Many newts produce toxins to avoid predation, but the toxins of the genus Taricha are particularly potent...

, Taricha granulosa, , whose populations in the North Cascades exhibit an adult perennibranchiate

Perennibranchiate

Perennibranchiate, in zoology, is the condition of an organism retaining branchae, or gills, through life; This condition is generally said of certain amphibia, such as the menobranchus; the term is opposed to caducibranchiate...

form in approximately 90 percent of the population.