The Importance of British Columbia's Mountain Ranges

What is Where

What are the Climate and Weather Patterns like around the mountain ranges? 

The climate around B.C.’s mountains is perfect for the mountain's biodiversity. During summers temperatures range from 20°C - 30°C, with 24°C being an ideal temperature for plants.

During the Spring, the province's coast receives heavy precipitation. This is routine to the mountains along the West Coast, such as Vancouver's Coastal Mountains, and the Southwest Coast which receive the most humid weather and precipitation.

Winters are cold and heavy with some warm air masses. 

Using Mount Waddington in the Pacific Mountain Range, for example. It is located at 51.37166518°N, -125.26166562°W. This area receives the province's coastal winds, except during remote weather patterns. The winds bring in moisture making the air humid in the lower areas. During winters, the area gets some of the lowest temperatures and heavy snow.

Map 2 - Mount Waddington

Columbia, B. (2021). Climate of b.c. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.welcomebc.ca/Choose-B-C/Explore-British-Columbia/Climate-of-B C#:~:text=The%20interior%20and%20central%20regions,snow%2C%20and%20summers%20are%20short.

Robinson, J. (2020). Geography of British Columbia. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/geography-of-british-columbia

What is Where?

What areas are suitable for tourism and human living?

The mountainous areas in British Columbia are more than suitable for residents. In truth, the mountains have been inhabited by residents for a while. The most common residents in the mountains are the Indigenous like the Métis and Inuit, reported by the 2011 National Household Survey. There are also others like the Kootenay nation, which is also the name of the area where most of of British Columbia’s mountains are located.  

Some ranges are more remote than others meaning not all mountains are visited by tourists. Mountains that are commonly visited include Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine, & Whistler. These mountains may even include resorts and designated ski hills for tourists.

In addition, British Columbia had taken the liberty to add in parks for outdoor activities. For example, Ts’ilʔos Provincial Park is filled with lakes, waterfalls, and mountains. Their area has great temperatures and weather for all sorts of activities. The park is also not too far from Mount Waddington as it is Northwest of it. 

Map 3 - Ts’ilʔos Provincial Park

Columbia, B. (2020). B.C. first nations & indigenous people. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.welcomebc.ca/Choose-B-C/Explore-British-Columbia/B-C-First-Nations-Indigenous-People

Nation, K. (2019, October 16). Kootenay Rockies. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.indigenousbc.com/places-to-go/kootenay-rockies

Why There?

Why are the mountains located there today?  

The provinces mountains are standing there today because of the movement of tectonic plates. Movement of tectonic plates create volcanoes. After a volcano's eruption, a mountain is formed from the lava and debris.

The mountains in British Columbia formed 100 million years ago due to faulting, cracking, rifting of tectonic plates. The Juan de Fuca Plate pushed against the North American Plate and overtime mountains were formed. 

However, a different zone in the Southern part of the province known as The Chilcotin Ranges formed through a back-arc extension. A back-arc extension occurs when one tectonic plate underthrusts another.

Map 4 - The Juan de Fuca Plate

Rafferty, J. (2011, July 26). Back-arc basin. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/science/back-arc-basin

Why There?

Why are there large population of Indigenous groups in the mountains?

The Indigenous have lived in British Columbia’s area for almost 10,000 years. Carbon dating confirmed that they've inhabited the mountains about 6,000 - 8,000 years ago. The coast had the highest indigenous populations of 200 - 1000 people at the time. The lakes mainly attracted the group because a large part of indigenous culture is fishing and the waters held shellfish, salmon and whales. Groups used the waters to develop fishing techniques and tools.

However, populations started to increase in the mountain ranges before the westward expansion in 1803. They migrated to the mountain ranges for their fertile land, forestry, and rivers. Today around 200,000 indigenous people are living in British Columbia and a good portion live in the mountains. 

Map 5 - The Nuu-Chah-Nulth (an indigenous group that used to inhabit the coast)

C, B. (2021). B.C. first nations & indigenous people. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.welcomebc.ca/Choose-B-C/Explore-British-Columbia/B-C-First-Nations-Aboriginal-People

Robinson, J., Young, E., & Abra, E. J. (2020). British Columbia. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/british-columbia

Why There?

Why are there warmer, moist climates around B.C.’s mountain ranges?

During winters warm air patterns from the Pacific Ocean travel to the Northeast corner and during the summers the cool water from the Pacific keeps temperatures down. The lakes around the mountains also help keep the temperature down during the summer. The coastal mountains receive most of the cooler temperatures during the summer since they're closer to the waters.

Map 6 - Northeast corner

Columbia, B. (2021). Climate of b.c. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.welcomebc.ca/Choose-B-C/Explore-British-Columbia/Climate-of-B-C#:~:text=The%20interior%20and%20central%20regions,snow%2C%20and%20summers%20are%20short.

Demarchi, D. (2020). Central British Columbia mountain forests. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/na0509

Why Care?

How do the mountains have a significant impact on British Columbia’s biodiversity? 

Environmental

The mountains are known to provide habitats to thousands of species of animals and plants. Their lakes hold a variety of aquatic species and their forest hold some of Canada’s top predators like Black Bears, Grizzly Bears, and Cougars. They also hold a variety of plants like the Arctic Lupine, Douglas fir, and the Glacier Lily.   

The mountains up South hold most of the scavengers like raccoons and skunks. The Kootenay and Western Rockies region hold the highest Elk population and the North hold most of the Caribou. 

The mountains also hold vast forests that hold up the rivers with their roots. As a result, this prevents flooding in nearby ecosystems and soil erosion.

The rivers like Fraser are then able to hold a variety of fish like salmon, shellfish, herring, groundfish and crustaceans.

With all this provided by the mountains, ecosystems can hold healthy food chains that keep the surrounding environment alive. For instance, the Cougar → Mule deer → Forbs food chain.

Map 7 - Fraser River

Geographic, N. (2015). The changing of the Pacific Coast. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/interactive-assets/bc-supp/v6/assets/PDF/NG_British_Columbia_Supplement_2016.pdf

Lawrence, J. (2019). Climate. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Columbia/Climate#ref261692

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, B. (2018, January 03). Plants, animals & ecosystems. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems

Why care?

How can these mountains improve our quality of life?

Social

These mountains improve the life of thousand specifically the Indigenous. The Indigenous have a strong relationship with these mountains through their culture. The mountains' freshwater is useful to them for various reasons such as fishing. They use the water from Garibaldi Lake for example. They also use the animals around the area like shellfish in the Fraser River or Garibaldi Lake to eat and make materials.  

These mountains also provide recreational use to citizens of British Columbia and tourists. The mountains are great for site seeing and their lakes a commonly used for swimming activities and fishing. Some families could be seen camping around the mountain's lower areas. During winters skiing, snowboarding, and tubing are a common activities that occur around the mountains.

The mountains provide great nature scenes which are greatly appreciated by the individuals that go to the parks around the mountains. For example, the Garibaldi Provincial Park nature routes.

The mountains also provide forests that had rich, fertile soil that is used in agricultural practices by farmers. 

Map 8 - Garibaldi Provincial Park

Edmond, C. (2019). This is why mountains matter more than you may think. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/why-mountains-matter-more-than-you-think/

Why care?

How do these mountains affect Canada and other Countries?

Political

Canada is looking into forming a Mountain Partnership, a United Nations agreement. This partnership would include 60 other mountainous countries; however, the countries' names haven’t been revealed. Canada sees this as an opportunity to have peaceful cooperation between multiple countries.  

There is also cooperation within the country between provinces. Scientists and researchers across the country are constantly contributing information about the ecosystems in the mountain ranges.

Economy

These mountains also affect Canada’s economy with their resources that help the mining industry. Statistics showed that the mountains in the Southeast hold the most deposits of gold in the province which has high value. This mainly help the economy in the 1880s because it attracted the European settlers. To this day British Columbia has provided minerals like coal, copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, aggregates, which alone has made $8.8 billion, stated by The British Columbia Geological Survey. Some mines in the province's mountains include open-pit coal mines in the Southeastern and Northeastern corners.

Other than the mining industry, the mountains also help the forestry industry. Almost every component of the environment is connected. Therefore since the mountains provide habitat for multiple species which then create food chains/webs. Through the chains/webs, nutrients get passed through, resulting in forests thriving around the area. Forests are a key factor in Canada's economy, specifically the timber industry. Forests provide wood that goes into logging, sawmilling, and pulp and paper production. Today British Columbia's forested mountains produce approximately half of the wood that gets harvested in Canada every year for lumber production.

Lastly, the mountains also help in the tourism industry. Since the mountains are so popular during the winters, resorts have been built around the snowy mountains. The mountains are great landmarks that attract tourists to the winter resorts thus boosting the industry.

Map 9 - Coal Mountains

Macdonald, R. (2019). Agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Columbia/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing

Municipalities, U. (2019). Community effort booklet. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.ubcm.ca/EN/main/services/publications/community_effort_booklet.html

With this information, it proves how significant British Columbia's mountains are to Canada. These mountains support the environment and people's lifestyles, they boost the economy, provide resources and recreational uses, and overall are a beautiful physical features of Earth.