This article is about the Cariboo Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. They should not be confused with the Caribou Mountains.

The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains

Columbia Mountains

The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges located in southeastern British Columbia, and partially in Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² . The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenay River on the south; their...

, which run down into the Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

 area of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and include the Selkirks

Selkirk Mountains

The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...

, Monashees

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...

 and Purcells

Purcell Mountains

The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mountain Trench in the area of the Columbia Valley, and on...

. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province 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...

, 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...

. The range is 7,700 km² (c. 2,975 sq mi) in area and about 245 km in length (SE-NW) and about 90 km at its widest (SW-NE).

Physical geography

East of the range is the Rocky Mountain Trench

Rocky Mountain Trench

The Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just south...

, in this region largely the path of the upper Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

 (including the section known as the Grand Canyon of the Fraser which is not to be confused with the better-known Fraser Canyon

Fraser Canyon

The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...

 nearer Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

). To the west the range verges with the Cariboo Plateau

Cariboo Plateau

The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau...

 through an intermediary "foothill" area known as the Quesnel Highland

Quesnel Highland

The Quesnel Highland is a geographic area in the Central Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As defined by BC government geographer in Landforms of British Columbia, an account and analysis of British Columbia geography that is often cited as authoritative...

. Northwestwards the range drops to the Willow River area of the Nechako Plateau

Nechako Plateau

The Nechako Plateau is the northernmost subdivision of the Interior Plateau, one of the main geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia...

, which lies around Prince George

Prince George, British Columbia

Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...

. South of the range, northeast of Clearwater

Clearwater, British Columbia

Clearwater is a district municipality in the North Thompson River valley in British Columbia, Canada, north of Kamloops. The largest community in the valley, with a population of 4,960, Clearwater is predominantly employed by the forestry industry. Tourism is also a major industry, with Wells Gray...

 a plateau-like mountainous area between the range and the North Thompson River is part of the Shuswap Highland

Shuswap Highland

The Shuswap Highland is a plateau-like hilly area of in British Columbia, Canada. It spans the upland area between the Bonaparte and Thompson Plateaus from the area of Mahood Lake, at the southeast corner of the Cariboo Plateau, southeast towards the lower Shuswap River east of Vernon in the...

, which crosses the North Thompson and continues into the Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake is a lake located in south-central British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River...

 area.

N.B. Some classification systems assign the Cariboo Mountains to the Cariboo Plateau, which also includes the small Marble

Marble Range

The Marble Range is a small mountain range adjoining the Fraser River on the southwestern edge of the Cariboo Plateau of British Columbia. It has an area of 1,250 square kilometres and about 65 km NNW to SSE and about 20 km wide...

 and Clear Range

Clear Range

The Clear Range is a small mountain range located in the angle of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers in south-central British Columbia. It has a small subdivision just northeast of that confluence named the Scarped Range...

s but it is so large and so mountainous a range, with peaks that rival the highest in the Selkirks, that it does not warrant the "plateau" designation.

The Cariboo Mountains subranges include the Palmer Range and the Mowdish Range.

Watersheds and rivers

Unlike the other three major subranges of the Columbia Mountains, the Cariboo Mountains have almost no contact with the Columbia River or its tributaries, but are entirely bounded by the Fraser and its tributary, the North Thompson River (there is a small exception in the Canoe River

Canoe River (British Columbia)

Canoe River is a tributary of the Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada. Its lower reach is flooded by Mica Dam. The lower Canoe River is called Canoe Reach, part of the Mica Dam's reservoir, Kinbasket Lake.-Course:...

, which runs into the Rocky Mountain Trench from the eastern end of the range. The Canoe River is on the north side of Albreda Pass, which is the divide between the North Thompson and the Rocky Mountain Trench.

High peaks

The highest summits in the range are in a group known as the Premier Range

Premier Range

The Premier Range is a group of mountains within the Cariboo Mountains of east-central British Columbia, Canada. The range is bounded by the Rausch River and Kiwa Creek to the north, the North Thompson River on the south and west and the Fraser River and its tributaries to the east.In 1927, the...

 whose peaks carry the names of eleven Canadian Prime Ministers

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

, one British Prime Minister, and one Premier of British Columbia

Premier of British Columbia

The Premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title Prime Minister of British Columbia was often used...

. The highest peak is Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier is a mountain located in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains in the east-central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain is the tallest in the Premier Range, which is located just west of Valemount....

 at 3,516 m (11,535 ft). The most recently added name to the group is that of Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau is a mountain located at co-ordinates in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain is located on the south side of the McLennan River, just west of Valemount....

.
The highest peak in the Cariboo Mountains outside the Premiers Range is Quanstrom Mountain 3,038 m (9,967 ft), which is the northernmost peak in the range over 3,000 m.

Protected lands and parks

Much of the Cariboo Mountains lie in Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres...

, among the oldest in British Columbia, and another section is in Bowron Lake Provincial Park

Bowron Lake Provincial Park

Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in northern British Columbia, Canada, about 120 kilometers east of the city of Quesnel. Other nearby towns include Wells and the historic destination of Barkerville. The park is known for its rugged and mountainous terrain...

, a popular canoeing circuit east of the preserved gold rush

Cariboo Gold Rush

The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...

 town of Barkerville

Barkerville, British Columbia

Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel along BC Highway 26, which follows the route of the original access to...

. Another park in the range is Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park

Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park

Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Likely. Comprising 113,469 ha., the park iocated in the Cariboo Mountains between Bowron Lakes Provincial Park and Wells Gray Provincial Park ....

, between Wells Gray and Bowron Lake.