Boundary Country
The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern
Geography
The Boundary Country comprises the lower valleys of the West Kettle and
The principal community of the West Boundary area is
History
The Boundary Country was part of the traditional territory of the
American miners poured across the border in 1859 during the Rock Creek Gold Rush. In subsequent years followed the construction of the Dewdney Trail and, later on, discovery and industrialization of the area's rich mineral resources, notably copper. Copper provided the industrial base for the development of the region, with many large mines and smelters and associated mining camps and communities. These were large enough that there were two provincial electoral seats in the area Greenwood and Grand Forks. Several towns from this era have since disappeared or vanished beyond recognition, among them Eholt, Deadwood, Cascade Falls and Phoenix.
Political organization
Federally, the Boundary Country is now part of the South Okanagan—West Kootenay electoral district. Historically it was originally part of the Yale riding (1871-1952) and afterwards had been in the Okanagan Boundary (1952-1966), the Okanagan—Kootenay (1966-1968), and the British Columbia Southern Interior (1997-2015) ridings.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the Boundary-Similkameen provincial electoral district. Previously it had been in the West Kootenay-Boundary (2001-2009), Okanagan-Boundary (1991-1996) ridings, Boundary-Similkameen (1963-1991), and Grand Forks-Greenwood ridings (1924-1963). From 1903 to 1924 it was represented by two ridings, Greenwood and Grand Forks, both of which had been created from the redistribution of the older West Kootenay (south riding) (1894 only) and prior to that West Kootenay riding (1890 only). Originally it was part of the Kootenay provincial electoral district.
The Boundary Country is currently part of the
Climate
Rock Creek, Midway, Grand Forks, Westbridge and Christina Lake enjoy a semi-arid climate with fairly low precipitation, mild winters and hot summers. Higher elevation communities such as Greenwood, Beaverdell, Carmi, Christian Valley and Bridesville can also be considered semi-arid, but receive cooler temperatures and more precipitation, particularly snow. The Boundary Country as a whole shares a similar climate to the Okanagan Valley just to the West.
Municipalities
The largest city in the region is Grand Forks with a city population of almost 4,000 and an area population of about 10,000. The incorporated municipalities in the Boundary Country are the cities of Grand Forks and Greenwood and village of Midway. The unincorporated communities are Bridesville, Rock Creek, Westbridge, Christian Valley, Beaverdell, Carmi, Kettle Valley, Anaconda, Christina Lake and Cascade. During the area's smelting and railway heyday, Phoenix was also incorporated as a city but only Greenwood and Grand Forks retain their city status, with Greenwood proudly retaining the status of "Canada's Smallest City".
References
- ^ "Boundary Country" website, British Columbia government
- ^ "Boundary Country" page, britishcolumbia.com Archived January 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Map of mining claims in the western Boundary Country and South Okanagan Archived September 16, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sinixt Nation website