Where does all that water go?

Our trip through the southwestern portion of Canada allowed us to experience a few incredible river systems. The Fraser and the Columbia Rivers go to the Pacific. The Athabasca, Bow and Oldman Rivers make their way into the Arctic Ocean.

Many times during our visit locals reported the highest snowfall on record. Which begs the question - where does all that water go?

Racing down gullies and gorges, tumbling over falls, filling dams, trickling through wetlands between the peaks. Eventually, all this water ends in the ocean. All tributaries are draining the mountains of the Rockies and the trip is epic!

We followed the Fraser River, the world’s biggest salmon river, several times. From Lillooet through Hells Gate to Hope was mighty, amazing, spectacular. We met the Fraser again at Tete Juane Cache, near it's headwaters at Mt Robson. This is where the strongest salmon, the Chinook, end their 1200km migration from the Ocean.

The Columbia River, the largest river of the Rockies, carries huge volumes of water. It heads both north and south between tall peaks, through many kilometres of wetlands. It goes through BC, into the USA and enters the ocean near Portland, Oregon.

What an incredible ecosystem!もっと詳しく