The Lillooet Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the

Pacific Ranges The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to B ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. They are located between the drainage of the

Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...

and

Harrison Lake Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi2) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its sou ...

on the west and the canyon of the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

on the east, and by the lowland coastal valley of that river on the south. The Lillooet Ranges are approximately 8100 square kilometres (3150 mi²) in area. The range is extremely rugged and varied in terrain, and includes some of the highest peaks in southwestern

. The highest is Skihist Mountain, , crowning the Cantilever Range in the heart of the area to the west of the community of Lytton at the confluence of the Thompson and

s. The northernmost subdivision of the Lillooet Ranges is the

Cayoosh Range The Cayoosh Range is the northernmost section of the Lillooet Ranges, which are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. The range covers an area of c. and is approximately SW to NE and about SE to ...

, which includes the second-highest summit in the Lillooet Ranges, an unnamed peak just south of

Seton Lake Seton Lake is a lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. On the northeast side is Mission Ridge. On the southwest is the Cayoosh Range. By road, the eastern end is about southwest of Lillooet. Name origin In 1827, ...

and about WSW of the town of

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

. To the northeast of Harrison Lake, Mount Breakenridge stands tall and poses a significant local landslide tsunami risk to the area. There are a number of provincial parks and recreation areas within the boundaries of the Lillooet Ranges. The largest and most important is the Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park, which takes in the entire Stein River basin, immediately west of Lytton and east of Pemberton- Mount Currie. "The Stein" is the largest unlogged watershed in the southern

and, like the rest of the Lillooet Ranges, varies from coastal-type alpine in the west to desert-canyon arid on its east. There is only one highway traversing the Lillooet Ranges, Hwy 99 from Mount Currie to

, via the valley of Cayoosh Creek. North of that highway is the subarea known as the

, which contains the second-highest peak in the Lillooet Ranges, an unnamed summit just south of

. The main watersheds entirely within the Lillooet Ranges are those of Cayoosh Creek, the Stein River, the Nahatlatch River, and the Silver River (a.k.a. the Big Silver River). Many smaller streams, still of considerable size, are not listed here.

References

External links

*
Lillooet Ranges entry in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
{{Pacific Ranges Pacific Ranges