Shuswap River
| Shuswap River | ||
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| Data | ||
| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| River system | Fraser River | |
| Drain over | Little River → South Thompson River → Thompson River → Fraser River → Pacific Ocean | |
| muzzle | in the Mara Lake coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 0 ″ N , 119 ° 9 ′ 0 ″ W 50 ° 43 ′ 0 ″ N , 119 ° 9 ′ 0 ″ W
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| length | 185 km | |
| Catchment area | 5200 km² | |
| Drain |
MQ |
90 m³ / s |
| Flowing lakes | Sugar Lake , Mable Lake | |
The 5200 km² catchment area of the Shuswap River is located in the northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia . It is the upper part of the Shuswap Lake and South Thompson River basin . The Shuswap River has a length of 185 km and an average discharge of 90 m³ / s.
geography
The river can be divided into three sections:
The headwaters have their origins at Joss Pass at the northern end of the Sawtooth Range in the Monashee Mountains . It flows into Sugar Lake southeast of the southern end of this mountain range.
The middle reaches the Sugar Lake on its southern shore, but then flows in a northerly direction to Mabel Lake , one of the larger mountain lakes in Interior British Columbia .
Below Mabel Lake, the lower reaches of the Shuswap River flows west to the village of Enderby at the northern end of the Okanagan Corridor . There it flows into the Mara Lake .
Mara Lake is connected to the Salmon Arm of Shuswap Lake near Sicamous via a canal called Sicamous Narrows , which in turn drains into Little Shuswap Lake via the 3.5 km canal-like Little Shuswap River . The course of the South Thompson River begins on the banks of the lake, where Chase is located .
history
The Shuswap River has a long history of transporting people and goods. During the spring flood, tree trunks were floated downriver from Mabel Lake to the many sawmills along the riverbank in Enderby, Grindrod and Mara.
At the end of the 19th century paddle steamer carried goods and people from Mara Lake up the Shuswap River to Enderby and Fortune's Landing , from where they were transported by stagecoach to Okanagan Landing west of Vernon . Many paddle steamers ran aground on the river's sandbanks, so that their progress was often slow. With the opening of the Shuswap-Okanagan Railway in 1892, paddle steamer traffic on the river decreased rapidly.
recreation
The Shuswap River is now a popular destination for canoeists , kayakers, and tubing enthusiasts . The Shuswap Hut and Trail Alliance is in the process of building a network of huts and trails that will include the Shuswap River waterway and over 280 km of mountain hiking trails in the Shuswap Lake area. The “Annual Kayak Rodeo” takes place at the beginning of June at the Kingfisher Rapids near Mabel Lake. Fishing is popular during the annual salmon migration in late August through early September.
Web links
- Shuswap River Travel Guide
- Shuswap River . In: BC Geographical Names (English)