- Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a
volcanic plateau in south-centralBritish Columbia ,Canada . It is part of theFraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of theNorth American Plateau . The southern linit of the plateau is theBonaparte River although some definitions include theBonaparte Plateau between that river and the Thompson, but it properly is a subdivision of theThompson Plateau . The portion of the Fraser Plateau west of the Fraser is properly known as theChilcotin Plateau but is often mistakenly cinsidered to be part of the Cariboo Plateau, which is est of the Fraser only.As a region and historical identity, the Cariboo is sometimes considered to extend to the
Thompson River to the south of that, and to border on the city of Kamloops at its southeastern corner and even as far as Lytton, at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. The town of Lillooet is generally considered to be in the Cariboo, while the Bridge River Country to its west was sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo, as were also the ranches along the west side of the Fraser northwards towards the Gang Ranch. Broader meanings of "the Cariboo" sometimes include the Chilcotin, west of the Fraser. The geographic region known as theQuesnel Highland , which forms a mountainous series of foothills between the plateau proper and theCariboo Mountains , is likewise considered to be part of the Cariboo in a cultural-historical sense - not the least because it is the location of the famous Cariboo goldfields and the one-time economic capital of the Interior of British Columbia, Barkerville.The Cariboo is commonly divided into North Cariboo, Central Cariboo and South Cariboo. The commercial centre of the north is Quesnel, of the central
Williams Lake and of the south100 Mile House . The Cariboo region is generally considered to reach as far southeast as the city of Kamloops and to include theCache Creek andLillooet areas in the south. The region west of theFraser River north of Lillooet, theChilcotin , is often considered to be a part of the Cariboo; the country south of it immediately west ofLillooet is sometimes referred to as the West Cariboo.The Cariboo Plateau is made of Late
Miocene flood basalt lava s of theChilcotin Plateau Basalts which is avolcanic plateau orlarge igneous province thought to have formed by aback-arc basin behind theCascadia subduction zone . [http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/belt_chilcotin_e.php National Resources Canada - Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes: Chilcotin Plateau basalts] Retrieved on2008-06-26 ]Important events in the history of the Cariboo region:
* TheCariboo Gold Rush
* The building of theCariboo Wagon Road
* TheChilcotin War of 1864"
The Cariboo Trail " is a 1950film about the gold rush era of the 1890's in the area. The film is based on a story by John Rhodes Sturdy, screenplay by Frank Gruber, directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starringRandolph Scott andGabby Hayes .Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a popularcanoe ing destination in the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel.Wells Gray Park to its south is partly in the Cariboo.ee also
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Cariboo
*Volcanism in Canada References
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