Cariboo Mountains

Cariboo Mountains
Peaks in the Premier Range
Highest point
Peak	Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Elevation	3,516 m (11,535 ft)
Coordinates	52°48′05″N 119°43′54″W / 52.80139°N 119.73167°W / 52.80139; -119.73167
Dimensions
Length	245 km (152 mi) SE-NW
Width	90 km (56 mi) SW-NE
Area	7,700 km2 (3,000 sq mi)
Geography
Location map of the Cariboo Mountains
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Range coordinates	52°55′N 120°15′W / 52.917°N 120.250°W / 52.917; -120.250Coordinates: 52°55′N 120°15′W / 52.917°N 120.250°W / 52.917; -120.250
Parent range	Columbia Mountains

The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane, Washington area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is 7,700 km² (c. 2,975 sq mi) in area and about 245 km in length (SE-NW) and about 90 km at its widest (SW-NE).

East of the range is the Rocky Mountain Trench, in this region largely the path of the upper Fraser River (including the section known as the Grand Canyon of the Fraser which is not to be confused with the better-known Fraser Canyon nearer Vancouver). To the west the range verges with the Cariboo Plateau through an intermediary "foothill" area known as the Quesnel Highland. Northwestwards the range drops to the Willow River area of the Nechako Plateau, which lies around Prince George. South of the range, northeast of Clearwater a plateau-like mountainous area between the range and the North Thompson River is part of the Shuswap Highland, which crosses the North Thompson and continues into the Shuswap Lake area.

N.B. Some classification systems assign the Cariboo Mountains to the Cariboo Plateau, which also includes the small Marble and Clear Ranges but it is so large and so mountainous a range, with peaks that rival the highest in the Selkirks, that it does not warrant the "plateau" designation.