Hells Gate, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
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...
's 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...
, located immediately downstream of Boston Bar
Boston Bar, British Columbia
Boston Bar is an unincorporated town in the Fraser Canyon of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was not named for an organization of Massachusetts lawyers but dates from the time of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush...
in the southern 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...
. The towering rock walls of the 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...
plunge toward each other forcing the waters through a passage only 35 metres (114.8 ft) wide. It is also the name of the rural locality at the same location.
History
The first recorded history of Hell's Gate is found in the explorer Simon FraserSimon Fraser (explorer)
Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
's journal, 1808. There he describes this narrow passage as an "awesome gorge" He also says that "surely this is the gate of hell". On June 26, 1808 Fraser passed along the cliffs on a series of bridges and ladders built by local Nlaka'pamux
Nlaka'pamux
The Nlaka'pamux , commonly called "the Thompson", and also Thompson River Salish, Thompson Salish, Thompson River Indians or Thompson River people) are an indigenous First Nations/Native American people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia...
people.
Construction of the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
in 1914 blasted thousands of tons of rock into the river below the railroad grade which further constricted the river and damaged sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...
runs. Thirty years of scientific planning and several years' construction have not completely repaired the damage. Hell's Gate's fishways, built by a joint Canadian-American Commission, were completed in 1946.
The route of the present Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
through the Fraser Canyon parallels, roughly, the fur brigade
Fur brigade
The Fur brigade were convoys of Canadian Indian fur trappers who traveled between their home trading posts and a larger HBC post in order to supply the inland post with goods and supply the HBC post with furs. Travel was usually done on the rivers by canoe or, in certain prairie situations, by horse...
trail of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, which was built over the shoulder of the Cascade Mountains high above the east bank of Hell's Gate, as the route north from Kequaloose (opposite Spuzzum
Spuzzum, British Columbia
Spuzzum is an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada. Because it is on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 50 km north of the community of Hope, it is often referred to as being "beyond Hope"...
) was completely impassable, even for mules. Beginning with the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
of 1858 Canyon a usable mule trail was built through the Canyon towards the 'Eye of Morello', a route which the new colonial government invested in heavily to build the Cariboo Wagon Road. The Cariboo Road was completed in 1864 but destroyed by CPR
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
construction in the 1880s. A road through the canyon was not opened again until 1922 as the Cariboo Highway.
The Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
runs through the canyon. Construction through the canyon took four years and was completed in 1884. Across the river is the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
. Originally called the Canadian Northern Railway, this stretch was completed in 1914. Rockslide
Rockslide
A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the plane of failure passes through intact rock and where material collapses en masse and not in individual blocks.The mode of failure is different from that of a rock-fall....
s during construction narrowed the channel just above Hell's Gate, resulting in the need for the present fishways. The Hells Gate Tunnel of the Trans-Canada Highway is immediately north of the parking lot for the air tram.
Today
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
since 1971. Its promotional literature claims it is the only airtram in the world which descends to its destination; as the initial point of departure (and parking facilities, road access, etc.) is located above the attraction.
Only local indigenous people are legally allowed to fish the river; however, fishing is prohibited one mile (1.6 km) north and south of Hell's Gate.
Aerial Tramway
Hell's Gate Airtram starts at the parking lot of the Trans Canada Highway and descends to its lower terminal on the opposite side of Fraser River next to the pedestrian suspension bridge, where there is an observation deck, a restaurant, a gift shop and other tourist attractions. It was built in 1970 by the Swiss manufacturer Habegger Engineering Works and opened on 21 July 1971. Its two cabins take 25 persons each plus the cabin attendant. Each cabin travels up and down along its own track rope at a maximum speed of 5 m/s (18 km/h) over an inclined length of 341 m. The horizontal distance between the terminals is 303 m and their difference in altitude is 157 m. The track ropes have a diameter of 40 mm, the haul rope connecting the two cabins via the drive bull wheel in the upper terminal has a diameter of 19 mm and its counter rope 15 mm. The track ropes are anchored in the upper terminal and are tensioned by two concrete blocks of 42 tons each suspended inside the lower terminal where the blocks have a leeway of 7.9 m to move up and down. The haul rope and its counter rope are tensioned by a counterweight of 3.5 tons, also in the lower terminal. The total carrying capacity of the aerial tramway is 530 passengers per hour (one way).The tourist area can also be accessed at no cost via a trail head located just south of the upper terminal. However, this is a difficult descent/ascent with rock slides easily triggered, and not less an hour is recommended to be given for the hike down and up combined.