15 Fraser River Facts: Find Out About This Mighty Canadian River!

Do you know of any river in which fish swim along with gold?

The Fraser River in Canada is one such majestic river.

Best known for having a unique variety of fish in its waters, like the white sturgeon, steelhead trout, and all five species of the Pacific salmon: chinook, coho, chum, pink, and sockeye salmon, the Fraser River also witnessed a gold rush in 1858 for the gold deposits found in its river system at that time.

The Fraser River is the 11th-longest river in Canada and the longest river running entirely in the province of British Columbia. It is more than 10,000 years old and is one of the most important rivers of Canada.

The river rises in Fraser Pass in the Rocky Mountains of Canada and flows into the Strait of Georgia, near Vancouver.

The Fraser River's journey from the Rockies in British Columbia to its mouth near the city of Vancouver is 854 mi (1,374 km) long. Most of the Fraser River’s drainage basin lies within British Columbia, but a small part of it lies in the United States of America, in Washington.

The river runs at a speed of 140,269 cu ft/s (3,972 cu m/s), and it discharges about 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean every year. The deepest part of the Fraser River at Abbotsford in British Columbia has shifted its position and deepened further recently.

Read this article further to know more amazing Fraser River facts and expand your knowledge on this mighty river and its tributaries.

Fun Facts About The Fraser River

Here are some fascinating facts about the Fraser River:

The Fraser River is more than 10,000 years old and was a vital source of livelihood for the indigenous people of Canada, who relied on the river for its resources, such as drinking water, fish for food, and using the river for transportation.

The Fraser River is named after Simon Fraser, a Scottish explorer who in 1808 became the first-ever European to travel the majority of the Fraser River’s length. There are about 2.9 million people currently living in Fraser Basin, which means that about two-thirds of British Columbians live in the Fraser River’s basin.

Nearly 300,000 people are living in the flood plains of the Lower Fraser River. The Fraser River’s water flow of 140,269 cu ft/s (3,972 cu m/s) can fill three swimming pools per second!

The flow of the river is highly dependent on the seasons: the river’s summer flow can be 10 times larger than the winter discharge. Based on its large natural and cultural heritage, the Fraser River was declared as a Canadian Heritage River in 1998.

Fort Langley was intentionally constructed on the south bank of the Fraser River that, in the event that Fort Vancouver was lost to the Americans, then Fort Langley would secure British claims to both sides of the Fraser River. Fort Langley is now a tourist attraction, with live re-enactments of gold panning.

Facts About The Fraser River's Ecosystem

The Fraser river’s ecosystem comprises a wide variety of flora and fauna, from a wide variety of fish to various types of vegetation. We look at some facts about the river's ecosystem:

The Fraser River has many famous fishing spots, and the popular fish in it include the white sturgeon, steelhead trout, and all five species of the Pacific salmon fish, as listed above.

The Lower Fraser River is a mixing place for the ocean’s saltwater and river’s freshwater and is where most fish spend their winter seasons to breed. The Fraser River basin supports a wide range of vegetation as it includes grassland, alpine tundra, coniferous forests, and coastal rainforest.

Major species of trees include the Douglas fir, Alpine fir, lodgepole pine, white spruce, western hemlock, and trembling aspen. Grasslands are found in arid regions near the river. Popular wildlife species in this region include black-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, grizzly bear, black bear, muskrat, wolf, and woodland caribou.

Lakes In The Fraser River

There are a number of lakes that drain into the Fraser River, most of them located in British Columbia, while others are near Vancouver. Here are some of the most important lakes in the Fraser River system:

Yellowhead Lake: Yellowhead Lake is the source of the Fraser River in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. The lake is strangely shaped and is approximately 3.5 mi (5.6 km) long. Interestingly, its width depends on where you’re standing and viewing it from.

Moose Lake: Moose Lake is the only lake that actually lies on the course of the Fraser River. It is a long lake with a medium width and is wider at its inlet of the Fraser River, and becomes thinner towards the outlet.

Quesnel Lake: Quesnel Lake is formed from glacial activities and is a major tributary of the River Fraser. It lies in British Columbia, is 1,677 ft (511 m) deep and is known as the deepest fjord lake in the world.

Seton Lake: Seton Lake is a long freshwater lake draining into the Fraser River, through the Seton River, at the town of Lillooet, and is 1,518 ft (462 m) deep.

Where The Fraser River Flows

The Fraser River has a drainage basin of 90,347 sq mi (234,000 sq km) and rises on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Fraser Pass, British Columbia.

The River Fraser then flows along the flat valley floor of the Rocky Mountain Trench, meeting the Nechako River from the north-west at Prince George, British Columbia. It then moves southwards, cutting through the Fraser Plateau and forming the Fraser Canyon.

From here, the Fraser River moves towards Canada’s border with the United States while being joined on the way by numerous tributaries, such as the Chilcotin River near the city of Williams Lake, the Bridge River, and Seton River at Lillooet, and the Thompson River at Lytton.

When it is about 40 mi (64 km) away from the border, it runs through another canyon which has the Caste Ranges on its east and the Coast Mountains on its west. A famous portion of this canyon is called Hell’s Gate and is located in the town of Boston Bar.

As the canyon opens up at Yale, the river widens. The Fraser River turns west and runs in a south-west direction before bending in the north-western direction at Mission and Abbotsford.

From here, the Fraser River flows past Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, and North Surrey. It then turns south-west again near New Westminster, where it splits into two arms: the North Arm, which forms the southern border of the city of Vancouver, and the South Arm, which separates the cities Richmond and Delta.

After traveling about 60 mi (96 km), both these arms of the Fraser form a delta, where there they descend into the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver.