Fraser River - New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada - National Wild and Scenic Rivers on Waymarking.com

THE FRASER RIVER
Many millions of salmon each year return to the Fraser: more than any other river system in the world. As the longest river in British Columbia, the Fraser traces a remarkable 1375 km course from the Continental Divide to Vancouver, Canada's largest port on the Pacific coast. While Simon Fraser's 1808 descent opened the Pacific slope to the fur trade and Canadian settlement, for centuries the Fraser has sustained First Nations, providing food, transportation and a strong social, cultural and spiritual focus. Racing from the Rocky Mountain Trench to the deep valleys of the Interior Plateau, boiling through Hell's Gate Canyon to the Coast Mountains and fanning through the rich wetlands of the Fraser Delta into the Strait of Georgia, the Fraser and its tributaries drain one-third of the province to make a spectacularly scenic home for two-thirds of the people of British Columbia.

Designation of the entire Fraser River to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System is a monumental achievement. Many individuals and organizations, including the B.C. Heritage Rivers Board and the Fraser Basin Council, have worked for public recognition of the Fraser's many nationally significant heritage values. Commemoration of the Fraser as a Canadian Heritage River will continue to support and compliment the sound stewardship of one of Canada's greatest river systems.

By any standards, the Fraser River embodies a natural and human heritage as magnificent, far reaching and significant as any other river in the world. It embraces the heartland of British Columbia's ecological, social and economic diversity and brings to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System important features of Canada's river heritage.

From its headwaters on the Pacific slope of the continental divide within Mount Robson Provincial Park, it flows along a remarkable 1375 km course to the ocean in the southwest corner of the province. The entire basin drains one third of the area of the province and is home to 2.4 million people – 63% of British Columbia's population.

With the most productive salmon fishery in the world, the Fraser River has been a focal point in sustaining a comfortable lifestyle for centuries. For thousands of years, many First Nations occupied well-defined areas along the river benefiting from the fish, wildlife and vegetation associated with the river environment. In more recent times, First Nations were joined by explorers and settlers who similarly harvested the resources of the region using the river itself for its rich fishery, for transporting other resources and as a support for agriculture and community life.

With settlement, industries and urban areas grew along the river to the point where today the economic activity within the Fraser River Basin accounts for 80% of the provincial and 10% of the national gross domestic product.

With the Fraser River in the backyard of such a vast proportion of the provincial population, recreational activity associated with the river is also significant. Fishing, boating, rafting and a host of riverside activities are common throughout the river course depending on the availability of public access. Many parks in a variety of river environments provide a focus for recreational activity. As a scenic attraction, the Fraser River commands attention along many public byways including the Trans Canada and Yellowhead highways.