Crossing the Divide: Northern Approaches to New Caledonia
European exploration and settlement of mainland British Columbia originated from the northeast, cross-ing the Arctic–Pacific continental divide. Four aborigi-nal routes were followed, beginning with Mackenzie’s historic journey in 1793 through a pass on the headwa-ters of the Parsnip River. Twelve y...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.497.6708 http://www.geog.uvic.ca/dept/wcag/sedgwick.pdf |
| Summary: | European exploration and settlement of mainland British Columbia originated from the northeast, cross-ing the Arctic–Pacific continental divide. Four aborigi-nal routes were followed, beginning with Mackenzie’s historic journey in 1793 through a pass on the headwa-ters of the Parsnip River. Twelve years later, fur trader Simon Fraser developed the McLeod-Stuart Lakes trail, used until 1880. The short portage between Summit Lake (Peace River headwaters) and Salmon River, a Fraser River tributary, was used infrequently until 1872. Finally, Giscome Portage between the Fraser River and Summit Lake was identified by gold prospec-tors in 1863 and constructed as a government road in 1871. After 1905, Giscome Portage became the primary route across the divide with a road built directly from Prince George to Summit Lake in 1919. After 1952, a highway, railway, pipelines and electric transmission lines were built across Giscome Portage, forming the primary transportation corridor linking northern and southern British Columbia. |
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