Introduction to the Kootenays

The southeast corner of British Columbia is a land of breathtaking beauty. Here, one of the outstanding natural features on Earth, the Rocky Mountain Trench, separates two great mountain ranges, the Rockies and the Purcells. Water running off these ranges feeds two mighty rivers, the Columbia and the Kootenay. It was the search for the Columbia that brought fur trader David Thompson to the area in the early eighteen hundreds. Fifty years later, some of the creeks feeding the mighty rivers were found to contain gold.

This gold was prevalent enough to produce a major gold rush that was largely responsible for the establishment of the North-West Mounted Police, now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police post at Fort Steele. By 1898 the gold rush was over and the stampeders lured by the Klondike gold fields abandoned the East Kootenays. Many inhabitants remained at Fort Steele waiting for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to connect the Kootenays with the rest of Canada.

This area is rich with pioneer history, gold rush, and human development. It is also home to many species of plants and animals, one of the most diverse areas for flora and fauna in the entire North American Rocky Mountain range. Here to is home to the driest spot in the Rockies, the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River. Adventures in this quiet little corner of BC, provide some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities anywhere; spectacular mountain peaks with relatively easily access; some of the best dry powder skiing and x-country skiing; beautiful turquoise blue lakes; and a serenity seldom found else where.

Join Howling Wolf Adventures to experience the historic and natural wonders of the Rocky Mountains.