Talk:Okanagan Range

BC definition

Re:

BCGNIS defines the northern boundary of the Okanagan Range as Young Creek and the lower Ashnola River

If you look at the BCGNIS entry for "Cascade Mountains" you'll see that there's a few more details than that; oops no, sorry, no details east of the upper Similkameen - "

Includes Skagit Range, Hozameen Range & Okanagan Range. Extent in British Columbia: bounded on the west by Fraser River, on the north by Thompson River, on the east by Nicomen River - Lawless Creek - Tulameen River - Copper Creek - Similkamen River."

BCGNIS is not known for its consistency ;- I don't have Holland handy, I know he gets a bit more specific east of Princeton, some of the area south of the Similkameen east of Princeton is defined as part of the Thompson Plateau. There's also a casual usage in Canada describing the "tongue" of the Thompson Plateau between the lowermost Similkameen and the valley of the Okanagan as the Okanagan Range; I'll see if I can find some usage-examples of that, it's fairly common but unofficial; it's the location of either the Kruger or Richter ranches, I've forgotten which, and has also been referred to as the Kruger Range, or Richter Range....I'll see if I can remember where I've seen that. Thing with the use of Okanagan Range for the low mountains on the west side of Oliver and Osoyoos is that, when seen from the farther side of the Okanagan valley, they do appear to be the same range as the Okanagan Range proper; but Holland, and BCGNIS, are very specific. But like so much else in BC, popular usage and official usage often differ.Skookum1 (talk) 12:58, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah ha, yes official uses differ and change over time. I didn't know about the Cascade Mountains BCGNIS entry. I will try to find time to amend this page to reflect that a little better. This is one of the cool things about Beckey--he gets into the history of nomenclature and how the ranges were early defined one way and later redefined in other ways. I think his comment on "recent Canadian maps" reflects the BCGNIS entry for Okanagan Range. The books of his I've been reading are mainly about mountain climbing and only passingly about geography and history, but his new one A Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range looks promising. Pricey though, so I am holding off for now. Anyway, Beckey seems to be a good source for this kind of info--no one, perhaps, is more into the northern Cascades in every respect--geography, history, geology, mountaineering, ecology, plants, development, and nomenclature. He's even part of the Washington Board of Geographic Names and much concerned with place names. And after the US Cascades got too crowded for him he began spending most of his time in the Canadian mountains so should know them quite well too. Pfly (talk) 15:52, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Worth looking at the BCGNIS entry for the Coast Mountains, too, which discusses the older usage whereby these were "the Cascades" (but not teh "Cascade Range" or "Cascade Mountains"); I've been meaning to add a statement about that to the respective pages in question....further reply on Talk:Skagit Range....btw does Beckey say anything about the "Coquihalla Range"? That's not in BCGNIS, one reference I've seen to it somewhere says it goes all the way to Lytton, I'd think it would at the Anderson River; I think I've also seen/heard "Lytton Range" which would be from the Anderson River northwards....Skookum1 (talk) 18:06, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

I can't find anything about the Coquihalla Range in Beckey's relevant book, Rainy Pass to Fraser River. There is this passage though that might be of interest:

From N of the Klesilkwa River to the Coquihalla River the nomenclature is the Hope Mountains, and W of the Coquihalla and Coldwater rivers it becomes the Anderson River Group (beyond which Stoyoma and Lytton mountains maintain the general character of the range to the Thompson Plateau). See Cairnes, "Coquihalla Area", p. 11. Earlier usage had termed the "Hope Mountains" from the Klesilkwa River northward and eastward and continuing E of the Coquihalla River. In the early part of the century the Klesilkwa was considered the dividing line between the Skagit and Hozameen ranges.

And his entry on Coquihalla Mountain says, "Its locale is the Bedded Range, a dioritic plug surrounded by basalt and rhyolite flows of the Coquihalla Series." I'd respond more, but don't have the time or brain right now. Pfly (talk) 19:11, 11 August 2009 (UTC)