Fraser Valley

Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage the term refers to the stretch of the river downstream from the town of Hope.

Physical geography

After descending through the rapids of the Fraser Canyon, the Fraser River emerges almost at sea level at Yale, over 100 km inland. Although the canyon in geographic terms is defined at ending at Yale, Hope is generally to be considered the southern end of the canyon, partly because of the change in the character of the highway from that point , and perhaps also because it is at Hope that the first floodplains typifying the course of the Lower Fraser are found. Downstream from Hope, the river and adjoining floodplains widen considerably in the area of Rosedale, Chilliwack and Agassiz , which is considered the head of the Fraser Delta. From there the river passes through some of the most fertile agricultural land in British Columbia—as well as the heart of the Greater Vancouver region—on its way through the valley to its mouth at Georgia Strait.

During the last ice age, the area that would become the Fraser Valley was covered by a sheet of ice, walled in by the surrounding mountains. As the ice receded, land that had been covered by glaciers became covered by water instead, then slowly rose above the water, forming the basin that exists today. The valley is the largest landform of the Lower Mainland ecoregion, with its delta considered to begin in the area of Agassiz and Chilliwack, although stretches of floodplain flank the mountainsides between there and Hope.

Several of the Fraser's lower tributaries have floodplains of their own, shared in common with the Fraser freshet. Of varying size these include the Harrison River, Chilliwack River (Vedder River), Hatzic Creek and Hatzic Lake, the Stave, Alouette, Pitt and Coquitlam Rivers. Also incorporated in the Fraser delta region are the Nicomekl and Serpentine River floodplains and the Sumas River drainage, which flow to saltwater independently of the Fraser but help drain its lowland. The Fraser is tidal as far upstream as the town of Mission, which is at the Fraser's closest approach to the international boundary, about 6 miles north of Sumas, Washington. Pitt Lake, one of the Fraser's last tributaries and among its largest, is so low in elevation, despite its mountain setting, that it is one of the largest tidal freshwater lakes in the world .

Oxbow lakes and side-sloughs are a common feature of the Lower Fraser's geography. The two main oxbows are those of Hatzic Lake and the Stave River on opposite sides of Mission, although that of the Stave has been silted in and part of it drained for a man-made lake. Around Fort Langley is an oxbow formation, mostly swamped in at the time of the fort's foundation, which was drained and made part of the fort's farm and remains farmland today. The system of sloughs and side-channels of the river is complicated, but important sloughs include those around Nicomen Island, Sea Bird Island and flanking the river from Rosedale to Sumas Mountain, on the western side of Chilliwack.

Historical settlement

This section of the Fraser River — called "Sto:lo" in the Halqemeylem language of the area, and who have adopted it as the collective name for all the peoples of the Fraser Lowland, other than the Skwxwu7kmesh and Musqueam — was a vital lifeline before the first European contact, and has been an important transportation corridor ever since.

In the nineteenth century, steamboats plied the waters between Georgia Strait and Yale, and were especially busy during the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. Boats continued to provide a vital link in the valley as the gold rush tapered off and Europeans began farming.

Eventually, roads and railways were built, fueled by and in turn fuelling population growth. Today, the most important transportation links through the region are the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway transcontinental main lines, the Lougheed Highway (Hwy 7), and the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1).

Modern land use

Today, the Fraser Valley has a mix of land uses, ranging from the urban and industrial centres of Vancouver, Surrey, and Abbotsford through golf courses and parks to dairy farms and market gardens.

Agricultural land in the valley – much of it protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve – is intensively farmed: the Fraser Valley brings in over half of British Columbia's annual agricultural revenue, although it makes up a small percentage of the province's total land area.

Weather

In winter, the Fraser Valley occasionally plays a significant role in the weather regime along the west coast of North America as far south as California, acting as a natural outlet for the intensely cold Arctic air mass which typically resides in northwest Canada. When meteorological conditions are just right, strong winds pour out of the Fraser Valley and out over the relatively warmer Pacific Ocean. Lanes of convective ocean-effect clouds and showers are produced as heat and moisture modify the very dry, frigid air mass. These then typically organize as a low pressure system which returns the showers to the coast south of Canada, often bringing snow to unusually low elevations.

Air quality

As the valley population grows and traffic increases, air pollution becomes an increasingly important issue; various controversies have risen over the years (most recently over "Sumas 2", a proposed power plant just south of the Canadian/USA border) as to whether or not air pollution is a problem, and if it is a problem, how this should be addressed.

Air quality in the Fraser Valley now exceeds the Canada-Wide Standard (CWS) for ozone (at Hope) and is close to exceeding the CWS for Particulate Matter. [ [http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/issues05/115105/news/115105nn2.html canada.com ] ]

Modern usage of the name

In colloquial usage, "Fraser Valley" usually refers only to that part of the valley beyond the continuously built-up urban area around Vancouver, up to and including Chilliwack and Agassiz, about 80 km east, and abutting the border with Washington's Whatcom County; news media typically also include the built-up eastern suburban areas of Vancouver which a few decades ago were mixed farmland and forest, typical of "the Valley". Fraser Valley can also refer to the Fraser Valley Regional District, which consists of the municipalities and incorporated areas in the eastern two-thirds of the valley.

The term "Central Fraser Valley" refers to Mission and Abbotsford and is included within the Lower Fraser Valley. The Upper Fraser Valley means from Chilliwack and Agassiz to Hope. The phrases "Fraser Valley towns" and "Fraser River municipalities" include Delta and Richmond, though the colloquial "in the Valley" means from Surrey and Coquitlam eastwards.

Sociology

The south shore of the Central and Upper Fraser Valley is also known colloquially as the "Bible Belt" of British Columbia and is home to many of Canada's largest churches, notably the Mennonite Brethren and the Dutch Reformed Church, a reflection of the heavy settlement of the Valley by post-war Dutch and German immigrants, as well as the Canadian headquarters of many Christian/Evangelical para-church organizations such as Focus on the Family and Campus Crusade for Christ. Voters in south shore ridings typically elect conservative candidates, while in ridings on the river's north side elections sway between social democratic and conservative parties regularly because of a more diverse range of churches and a much less religious tone and a stronger labour presence there. Abbotsford is also home to the Guru Sikh Temple, Canada's oldest Sikh temple, and Sikh temples are commonplace features of the Fraser Valley landscape.

References

See also

* Air pollution in British Columbia
* Arnett, T.C. 1976. The Chilliwack Valley Continuum: A Search for a Canadian Land Ethic. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, UBC.
* Carlson, K.T. (ed.) 2001. A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
* Carlson, K.T. (ed.) 1996. Your Are Asked To Witness: The Stó:lō in Canada's Pacific Coast History. Chilliwack: Stolo Heritage Trust.
* Cherrington, J.A. 1992. The Fraser Valley: A History. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour.
* Cook, D. 1978. Early Settlement in the Chilliwack Valley. Unpublished research paper, UBC.
* Demeritt, D. 1995-96. Visions of Agriculture in British Columbia. BC Studies 108, 29-59.
* Harris, C. 1997. The Resettlement of British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press.
* Lower Fraser Valley
* Oliver, J. 2006. A View From the Ground: Understanding the 'Place' of the Fraser Valley in the Changing Contexts of a Colonial World 1792-1918. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Sheffield.
* Ramsey, B. 1975. Five Corners, the story of Chilliwack. Chilliwack: Chilliwack Valley Historical Society.
* Waite, D.E. 1977. The Langley Story illustrated: An Early History of The Municipality of Langley: Don Waite Publishing.
* Wynn, G. & T.R. Oke (eds) 1992. Vancouver and Its Region. Vancouver: UBC Press.