Fraser Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon.
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[edit] 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. 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.
[edit] Historical settlement
This section of the Fraser River—called "Sto:lo" by the Coast Salish First Nations—was a vital lifeline before the first European contact, and has been an important transportation corridor ever since.
In the 19th century, steamboats plied the waters between Georgia Strait and Yale, and were especially busy during the gold rush of the 1850s and 60s. 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).
[edit] 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—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.
[edit] 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.[1]
[edit] Modern usage of term
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 80km 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.
[edit] Sociology
The eastern Fraser Valley is also known colloquially as the "Bible Belt" of B.C. and is home to many of Canada's largest churches 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 typically elect conservative candidates.
