Sunbeam Creek Ecological Reserve was established in 1972 to protect a variety of alpine communities representative of the western edge of the Rocky Mountains.
The 511-hectare reserve encompasses McBride Peak and adjacent summits to the northeast and northwest. These mountains form the western-most flank of the Park Range, immediately adjacent to the Rocky Mountain trench. Mountains in the reserve have generally rounded summits, having been overtopped by a dome of Pleistocene ice which reached the 2450 m elevation. They therefore lack the matterhorn-like peaks of higher mountains further east in the Park Ranges which protruded above the regional ice sheet, e.g. Mount Robson. Local alpine glaciers and stream erosion during the past ten thousand years have dissected the rounded summits to some extent, producing U-shaped valleys separated by relatively sharp crests. Surficial materials are largely morainal and colluvial. Freeze-thaw action has resulted in characteristic alpine features like solifluction lobes and frost-shattered rock. The climate is cold and windy. Glaciers do not presently exist, but snow patches are present on north-facing slopes for most of the summer. Drainage is via Sunbeam Creek and McKale River into the Fraser River.
Slopes in the reserve face all directions and terrain varies from moist stream- bottoms to alpine crests, therefore, a variety of alpine plant communities are present. To date, however, these have been only superficially described. A few scattered whitebark pine and subalpine fir trees, largely in a krummholz form, occur on slopes along stream valleys in the lowest parts of the reserve (1830- 1950 m). These areas may have affinities with the Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir Zone, but are extremely limited in extent. The bulk of the reserve is in the Interior Mountain-heather Alpine zone.
Extensive well-drained slopes above the treeline are dominated by pink, yellow and white mountain-heather and white mountain-avens. White rhododendron, oval-leaved blueberry, Sitka valerian and Indian hellebore are common at lower elevations. Moss campion, glaucous gentian, and a variety of grasses, sedges and lichens are present.
The alpine area is used for recreation because of easy access and the location of the reserve in the middle of a well known hiking route.
There is a communications tower on site, which was there before the reserve was designated.
Upper Raush Protected Area established by Order in Council 57, 25 January 2001 and redescribed as per Order in Council 2001/398: the whole containing approximately 5582 hectares.
While the Upper Raush (5,582 ha) and Lower Raush (1,279 ha) are two distinctly separate protected areas, their adjacency and similarity warrant their being documented as one unit.
Created through the efforts of the Robson Valley Land and Resource Management Plan and the Protected Areas Strategy, these protected areas protect portions of an undeveloped, relatively pristine watershed. Located on the southwest side of the Fraser River, just south of McBride, these protected areas have no road access or facilities of any kind. As part of the Northern Columbia Mountains Ecosection, these protected areas contain four biogeoclimatic subzones. Dominating the valley floor is Sub-boreal Spruce (SBSdh) while slightly upslope a rare variant of Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICHmm) exists. Higher yet, one finds Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir (ESSFmm1) melding into Alpine Tundra (AT).
There is no road access to either of these protected areas. There is an old road on the east side of the Raush River, on private land, and permission from the owner must be obtained. The Lower Raush protects excellent riparian wildlife habitat, while the Upper Raush protects a variety of biogeoclimatic subzones.
The Rearguard Falls viewpoint provides an excellent opportunity for travelers to witness the end of a long journey by the Chinook, largest of the Pacific salmon. These fish have survived several years at sea to return to the river of their birth, the mighty Fraser. From its estuary in British Columbia’s lower mainland to this point, the Chinook have traveled upstream over 1200 km. Some may be successful battling over these falls to reach the gravel above, but for most, Rearguard Falls marks the end of their journey.
Adopted in 1981; BC Parks required a name for this watercourse for a boundary description.
Named in relationship with Terry Fox and his “Marathon of Hope”. The headwaters of this creek are in Mount Terry Fox Park.
Map showing the Shuswap Territory. Figure 199, p. 450, Teit
A – Fraser River Division
B – Cañon Division, territory now largely occupied by the Chilcotin
C – Lake Division
D – North Thompson Division
D’ – Kinbasket
D” – Former territory of the Iroquois Band
D”’ – Shuswap, Cree, and Iroquois mixed
E – Bonaparte Division
F – Kamloops Division.
G – Shuswap Lake Division.
G’ – Arrow Lake Band.
• – Villages.
+ – Former villages
Dotted area, territory recently occupied by the Chilcotin.
Area at head of Fraser River, enclosed by broken double lines, temporarily occupied by the Sekanai.
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James Alexander Teit (1864 —1922) was an anthropologist, photographer and guide who worked with Franz Boas to study Interior Salish First Nations peoples in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Accompanying Boaz, he was a member of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, a major anthropological expedition to Siberia, Alaska, and the northwest coast of Canada. The purpose of the expedition was to investigate the relationships among the peoples at each side of the Bering Strait.
