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| Come along with us - we'll tell you about the
sights and attractions, the little-known facts and history of
our region... |
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We'll start at the flashing light on Highway 16
in Fraser :Lake.
Please set your odometer to 0 |
The
small hill in the Village of Fraser Lake is named Mouse Mountain.
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KM 3.3
MILE 2
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Stellako River bridge.
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| The water beneath the bridge stays open most winters
and is the winter home for large white swans, the emblem for
the Village of Fraser Lake. Before Europeans arrived in 1806,
There were two native villages on Fraser Lake and the people
depended on fresh or dried salmon for food. |
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KM 13
MILE 8
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Endako Settlement |
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KM 17.7
MILE 11
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Endako River |
| All the rivers in this area are part of the Fraser
River watershed and flow to Prince George on the way to Vancouver
and the Pacific Ocean. Our local rivers and creeks serve as
important salmon spawning streams. You will see small signs
along the highway denoting important fishery creeks. |
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KM 23.6
MILE 14.66
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Rest stop |
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KM 25.7
MILE 16
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Communication towers |
| Much of our phone and data communications in our
region is brought north using microwave transmission towers
rather than using wires. |
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Meadows to the north of the highway |
| Natural meadows on hillsides and mountainsides
are common. Some are alder stands, others are simply too dry
to support the growth of trees. Still others are the result
of forest fires over the last centuries. Many fires were the
result of lightening strikes but others were set by natives
to encourge the growth of berries. The first trees to grow in
a burnt area are often aspen. You'll notice the lighter colour
of the aspen stands toward the base of local hills, in contrast
to the dark green of the pine and spruce. Previous to the early
1930s and forest fire control, fires burned up the hillsides
to the top or to where the timber was too wet to burn. |
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KM 36
MILE 22.4
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End of flat farmland |
| We are leaving the relatively flat land of the
central plateau and entering the rolling hills of the Lakes
District. |
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KM 42.9
MILE 26.6
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Pull out |
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KM 47.3
MILE 29.4
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Long load crossing |
| Local sawmills have built special roads for logging
trucks that are too large and heavy for highway travel. The
off-road trucks haul trees full length, sometimes with the tree
tops dragging on the road. These roads extend up to 120 km from
the mills and make log hauling more economical. |
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Babine Forest Products sawmill on the south side
of the highway. |
| Logging and sawmilling are the primary industries
in our region. Lumber is shipped to the US, Japan and Europe,
waste wood chips are sent to pulp mills at Kitimat, Prince Rupert
and Prince George. |
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KM 55.5
MILE 34.5
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Canadian National Railroad |
| The CNR is the only railroad serving our area.
Highway 16 follows the CNR tracks from Prince George to Prince
Rupert. Lumber, coal, fuel and chemicals are the most common
loads. |
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KM 58.1
MILE 36.1
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Rest area |
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KM 63.2
MILE 39.3
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Burns Lake on the south side of the highway |
| Burns Lake is one of hundreds of lakes in the
Lakes District. Many support healthy populations of rainbow
trout and lake char. Many are accessible by logging roads, others
are only reached by aircraft. |
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KM 65.3
MILE 40.6
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Rock cut |
| The CNR railroad tracks are below the highway,
on a shelf of solid rock. In 1912, when the railroad was built,
the rock cut at Burns Lake was the largest single project on
the entire rail line. It took two years of blasting and hauling
to extend the tracks around this rock. |
 Burns
Lake to Houston - 80.5 km, 50 miles or 50 minutes
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| Local BCNorth Group members who provide automotive
parts and service include: |
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Fraser
Lake to Burns Lake - 70 km, 43.5 miles
or 44minutes
