KAMLOOPS HISTORY
KAMLOOPS GEOGRAPHYThe Geography of Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops Geography
Kamloops GeographyLocated on the Intermontane Plateau, Kamloops is the meeting place of the South and North Thompson Rivers that form the Thompson River and flow into Kamloops Lake. The Secwepemc people named Kamloops Tk’emlúps, which means "where the rivers meet" and is also known as the Hub City, where major highways meet.
The two major ecosystems, grasslands and forests, of southern BC are found in Kamloops and the boundary between the gently rolling Interior Plateau and the vast, rugged Shuswap Highland lies just to the east of the city.
How old is Kamloops, British Columbia?
European settlement of Kamloops and area goes back to the mid 1800's, but First Nations settlement in the region is much older and is projected at several thousand years back.
Kamloops, BC
The Kamloops region is built on a mix of different geological materials, all sharing a unique insight into the story of how Kamloops was formed geologically. One of the oldest materials is limestone at 270 million years old that was at one time part of an ancient seafloor. 50 million years later, mudstone and volcanic rock, that underlies much of Kamloops, was seafloor mud or volcanic islands in the ancestral Pacific Ocean. During the same time period, melted rock rose beneath volcanoes to form the copper deposits mined at Afton and Highland Valley Copper Mines.
50 million years ago, volcanoes erupted and volcanic ash and lava covered the land, forming the plateau country northwest of Kamloops. Forests and lakes filled the lowlands between volcanoes and their record is preserved at the McAbee Fossil Beds. Ancient rivers carved the landscape, forming the modern valleys of the Thompson Rivers and, during the Ice Ages, ice sheets carved the valleys and rounded the plateaus and mountains in the Kamloops area.
During and after the last Ice Age, volcanoes were still active in the Wells Gray Provincial Park. Though some claim that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, the oldest rocks found in Kamloops are only 270 million years old because at that time, Kamloops was a part of the ocean floor.
GeoTours of Kamloops, British Columbia
There are some great spots for GeoTours in Kamloops.
1. Dufferin Hill at Kenna Cartwright Park this magnificent view of the city gives tourists the opportunity to view the incredible vast, rugged landscape of Kamloops.
Hoodoos in Kamloops, BC
2. Cinnamon Ridge | check out the hoodoos and look at local volcanic rock and fossils.
3. McAbee Fossil Beds | tours in the summer are available and a great place for exploring.
4. Red Lake Road & Tranquille | inspect the Thompson Rivers and their delta in Kamloops Lake here.
5. Kamloops Bike Ranch | head up to the hills of the Juniper Ridge area to take a look at the relics of the Ice Age and the glacial lake silts.
6. Water Treatment Plant | a City of Kamloops facility that manages the water supply and is generally open for tours.
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Kamloops Visitor Centre: 1-800-662-1994