Kamloops
History
Since the time of the trappers, Kamloops has been at the heart of the dry, high country of south-central British Columbia. First settled in 1811 at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers, which here form the narrow Kamloops Lake, by the North West Company under the
name of Fort Thompson, the town was later renamed "Kamloops" from the local Indian dialect for "meeting of the waters".
In the 1860s this little settlement found itself in the throes of the gold-rush as the "Overlanders", a group of gold-seekers and pioneers, arrived here in 1862, who, embarking on a dangerous and exhausting three-month journey, crossed the Yellowhead Pass, hitherto virtually unknown, and followed the North Thompson River southwards into the heart of British Columbia.
In the 1880s there were also steamboats on the Thompson River at Kamloops and on the Sushwap Lake, but this came to an end when the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Kamloops in 1885.
Economy
Today Kamloops is an important junction. It is the meeting point for several road and rail routes - the Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway, TransCanada Highway, Yellowhead Highway 5 north, Coquihalla Highway and Highway 5 south into the Nicola Valley and to Merritt, and Highway 97 south-eastwards into the Okanagan Valley - as well as being the local capital for the 130,000 people living in what is mainly a rural region, farming sheep and cattle, while sawmills and paper factories exploit the timber from the hinterland. The firm of Wayerhaeuser Canada provides guided tours through their paper factory where 700,000 tons of timber and wood shaving are processed annually.
Tourism
Tourism is also starting to play an increasingly important part in this lake district setting (fishing, windsurfing, sailing and mountain tours) with its favorable climate - Kamloops has only about 160 mm (61/2 in.) of rainfall and more than 2000 hours of sunshine a year. There is also horseracing as an added attraction.
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