Boundary Country
Encyclopedia
The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia
lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States
. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west of the West Kootenay
. It is often included in descriptions of both of those regions but historically has been considered a separate region. Originally inclusive of the South Okanagan
towns of Osoyoos
and Oliver
, today the term continues in use to refer to
the valleys of the Kettle
, West Kettle
, and Granby River
s and of Boundary and Rock Creek
s and that of Christina Lake
and of their various tributaries, all draining the south slope of the Monashee Mountains
The term Boundary District as well as the term Boundary Country can both refer to the local mining division of the British Columbia Ministry of Mines, Energy and Petroleum Resources.
. The Granby and Kettle converge just north of the border at Grand Forks
, the largest city and heart of the Boundary. The Kettle crosses the border at the town of Midway
, near the confluence of the Kettle and Boundary Creek, which flows out of the galena
-rich Boundary Creek basin where the city of Greenwood
is located. A small pass connects between the Kettle River basin and that of the Granby, where the town of Grand Forks
lies immediately upon the border, and just east of which is the resort community of Christina Lake
.
The other principal community of the Boundary Country is Rock Creek
, which is located at the western end of the region where the creek of the same name meets the Kettle River. The area is rich with the sites of former towns and cities, most long defunct and nearly disappeared, although the names Kettle Valley, Boundary Falls, Anaconda, Phoenix and Eholt still appear on the map.
, a First Nations people of the Interior Salish
language group (also known as "the Lake" or "the Lakes" Indians). They are closely related to the neighbouring Okanagan
and Colville
peoples, and the Okanagan also consider the Boundary Country, as well as all lands claimed by the Sinixt, to be part of their own traditional territory. Declared "extinct" as a band by the government of Canada
during the early 20th century, some Sinixt families still reside in neighbouring Washington.
electoral district. Historically it was originally part of the Yale
riding (1871-1952) and afterwards had been in the Okanagan Boundary
(1952-1966) and the Okanagan—Kootenay
(1966-1968) ridings.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the West Kootenay-Boundary
provincial electoral district. Previously it had been in the Okanagan-Boundary
(1991-1996) ridings, Boundary-Similkameen
(1963-1991), and Grand Forks-Greenwood
ridings (1924-1963). From 1903 to 1924 it was represented by two ridings, Greenwood
and Grand Forks
, both of which had been created from the redistribution of the older West Kootenay (south riding)
(1894 only) and prior to that West Kootenay riding (1890 only). Originally it was part of the Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the Kootenay Boundary Regional District.
and Greenwood, British Columbia
and the village of Midway
. Rock Creek and Christina Lake are not incorporated. During the area's smelting and railway heyday, Phoenix
was also incorporated as a city but only Greenwood and Grand Forks retain their city status, with Greenwood proudly retaining the status of "Canada's Smallest City".
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...
lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States
Canada-United States border
The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 kilometers long, including 2,475 kilometres shared with Alaska...
. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west of the West Kootenay
West Kootenay
West Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was formed along with East Kootenay from a redistribution of the old Kootenay riding, which was one of the province's original twelve.- Demographics :...
. It is often included in descriptions of both of those regions but historically has been considered a separate region. Originally inclusive of the South Okanagan
Okanagan
The Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...
towns of Osoyoos
Osoyoos, British Columbia
Osoyoos is a town in the southern part of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia near the border with Washington state. The town is also adjacent to the Indian Reserve of the Osoyoos Indian Band. The origin of the name Osoyoos was the word suius meaning "narrowing of the waters" in the local...
and Oliver
Oliver, British Columbia
Oliver is a community at the south end of the Okanagan Valley in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 4370. The community of Oliver is made up of land governed by three different bodies: the Town of Oliver, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the...
, today the term continues in use to refer to
the valleys of the Kettle
Kettle River (Columbia River)
The Kettle River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northeastern Washington in the United States and southeastern British Columbia in Canada. Its drainage basin is large, of which are in Canada and in the United States.-Course:...
, West Kettle
West Kettle River
The West Kettle River is a tributary of the Kettle River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is part of the Columbia River basin, as the Kettle River is a tributary of the Columbia River.-Course:...
, and Granby River
Granby River
The Granby River is a tributary of the Kettle River in British Columbia, Canada, joining the Kettle just north of the US-Canada border at the town of Grand Forks...
s and of Boundary and Rock Creek
Rock Creek (British Columbia)
Rock Creek is a creek in the Boundary Country region of British Columbia. This creek is the most renowned placer gold creek in the Boundary Country. It was discovered in 1859 by a Canadian named Adam Beam. Rock Creek was originally called York Creek. Beam earned $977 in the first six weeks he...
s and that of Christina Lake
Christina Lake (British Columbia)
Christina Lake is a lake located along the Crowsnest Highway in the south-central area of British Columbia known as Boundary Country, which separates the Okanagan region from the West Kootenays. It is located 23 kilometers east of Grand Forks, just 1 km north of the United States border...
and of their various tributaries, all draining the south slope of the Monashee Mountains
Monashee Mountains
The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains...
The term Boundary District as well as the term Boundary Country can both refer to the local mining division of the British Columbia Ministry of Mines, Energy and Petroleum Resources.
Geography
The Boundary Country comprises the lower valleys of the West Kettle and Kettle Rivers and the lower Granby RiverGranby River
The Granby River is a tributary of the Kettle River in British Columbia, Canada, joining the Kettle just north of the US-Canada border at the town of Grand Forks...
. The Granby and Kettle converge just north of the border at Grand Forks
Grand Forks, British Columbia
-Schools:Schools in the region are operated by School District 51 Boundary which has its main office in Grand Forks but also serves Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, and Rock Creek....
, the largest city and heart of the Boundary. The Kettle crosses the border at the town of Midway
Midway, British Columbia
Midway is a village located in southern British Columbia in the West Kootenay region.It is located 13 km west of Greenwood and 51 km east of Osoyoos along Highway 3.-History:...
, near the confluence of the Kettle and Boundary Creek, which flows out of the galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
-rich Boundary Creek basin where the city of Greenwood
Greenwood, British Columbia
Greenwood is a small city in south central British Columbia.It was incorporated in 1897 and was formerly one of the principal cities of the Boundary Country smelting and mining district. It earned "city" status and has retained that stature despite the population implosion following the closure of...
is located. A small pass connects between the Kettle River basin and that of the Granby, where the town of Grand Forks
Grand Forks, British Columbia
-Schools:Schools in the region are operated by School District 51 Boundary which has its main office in Grand Forks but also serves Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, and Rock Creek....
lies immediately upon the border, and just east of which is the resort community of Christina Lake
Christina Lake, British Columbia
Christina Lake is an unincorporated recreational area in the Boundary Country of the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Highway 3, 12 miles east of Grand Forks and 44 miles southwest of Castlegar....
.
The other principal community of the Boundary Country is Rock Creek
Rock Creek, British Columbia
Rock Creek is an unincorporated settlement in the Boundary Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located at the confluence of the Kettle River with the eponymous Rock Creek, site of the Rock Creek Gold Rush of 1860, the community also lies at the junction of British...
, which is located at the western end of the region where the creek of the same name meets the Kettle River. The area is rich with the sites of former towns and cities, most long defunct and nearly disappeared, although the names Kettle Valley, Boundary Falls, Anaconda, Phoenix and Eholt still appear on the map.
History
The Boundary Country was part of the traditional territory of the SinixtSinixt
The Sinixt are a First Nations People...
, a First Nations people of the Interior Salish
Interior Salish
The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main subgroups of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further subdivided into Northern and Southern Interior Salish...
language group (also known as "the Lake" or "the Lakes" Indians). They are closely related to the neighbouring Okanagan
Okanagan people
The Okanagan people, also spelled Okanogan, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the U.S.-Canada boundary in Washington state and British Columbia...
and Colville
Colville (tribe)
The Colville tribe is a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. The name Colville comes from association with Fort Colville, named after Andrew Colvile of the Hudson's Bay Company...
peoples, and the Okanagan also consider the Boundary Country, as well as all lands claimed by the Sinixt, to be part of their own traditional territory. Declared "extinct" as a band by the government of 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...
during the early 20th century, some Sinixt families still reside in neighbouring Washington.
Political organization
Federally, the Boundary Country is now part of the British Columbia Southern InteriorBritish Columbia Southern Interior
British Columbia Southern Interior is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Description:...
electoral district. Historically it was originally part of the Yale
Yale (electoral district)
Yale was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1892 and from 1917 to 1953....
riding (1871-1952) and afterwards had been in the Okanagan Boundary
Okanagan Boundary
Okanagan Boundary was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1979.This riding was created in 1952 from parts of Kamloops and Yale ridings....
(1952-1966) and the Okanagan—Kootenay
Okanagan—Kootenay
Okanagan—Kootenay was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979.This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Kamloops, Kootenay East and Okanagan—Revelstoke ridings....
(1966-1968) ridings.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the West Kootenay-Boundary
West Kootenay-Boundary
West Kootenay-Boundary was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009.The seat combined the Rossland/Trail/Castlegar area that had previously been in Rossland-Trail with the Boundary Country, which had been in the Okanagan-Boundary...
provincial electoral district. Previously it had been in the Okanagan-Boundary
Okanagan-Boundary
Okanagan-Boundary was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia spanning the area from the Similkameen towns of Kaleden and Keremeos to Grand Forks and Christina Lake, and including the southern Okanagan towns of Okanagan Falls, Oliver, Osoyoos, Rock Creek and...
(1991-1996) ridings, Boundary-Similkameen
Boundary-Similkameen
Boundary-Similkameen is a new riding which was formed in 2008 assembled together with populations of Penticton-Okanagan Valley, West Kootenay-Boundary and Yale-Lillooet...
(1963-1991), and Grand Forks-Greenwood
Grand Forks-Greenwood
Grand Forks-Greenwood was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the town of Grand Forks, in the Boundary Country between the Okanagan and Kootenay Countries. The riding first appeared in the 1924 election as the result of a merger of...
ridings (1924-1963). From 1903 to 1924 it was represented by two ridings, Greenwood
Greenwood (provincial electoral district)
Greenwood was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was located in the Boundary Country west of Grand Forks around the city of Greenwood. It first appeared on the hustings in the large redistribution prior to the 1903 election...
and Grand Forks
Grand Forks (electoral district)
Grand Forks was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the town of Grand Forks, in the Boundary Country between the Okanagan and Kootenay Countries...
, both of which had been created from the redistribution of the older West Kootenay (south riding)
West Kootenay South
West Kootenay South was an electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia in the 1894 election only. Its official name was "West Kootenay "...
(1894 only) and prior to that West Kootenay riding (1890 only). Originally it was part of the Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, from 1871 to 1890. It was originally a two-member riding until the 1875 election; from 1878, it was a one-member seat until its partition for the 1890 election into East Kootenay and West Kootenay...
.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the Kootenay Boundary Regional District.
Municipalities
The incorporated municipalities in the Boundary Country are the cities of Grand ForksGrand Forks, British Columbia
-Schools:Schools in the region are operated by School District 51 Boundary which has its main office in Grand Forks but also serves Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, and Rock Creek....
and Greenwood, British Columbia
Greenwood, British Columbia
Greenwood is a small city in south central British Columbia.It was incorporated in 1897 and was formerly one of the principal cities of the Boundary Country smelting and mining district. It earned "city" status and has retained that stature despite the population implosion following the closure of...
and the village of Midway
Midway, British Columbia
Midway is a village located in southern British Columbia in the West Kootenay region.It is located 13 km west of Greenwood and 51 km east of Osoyoos along Highway 3.-History:...
. Rock Creek and Christina Lake are not incorporated. During the area's smelting and railway heyday, Phoenix
Phoenix, British Columbia
Phoenix is a ghost town in the Boundary Country of British Columbia, Canada, 11 km east of Greenwood. Once called the “highest city in Canada” by its citizens it was a booming copper mining community from the late 1890s until 1919...
was also incorporated as a city but only Greenwood and Grand Forks retain their city status, with Greenwood proudly retaining the status of "Canada's Smallest City".