Quesnel, British Columbia
| Quesnel | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Quesnel | |
The Quesnel gold pan
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| Motto: "Quesnel: It's in our nature" | |
 Quesnel
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| Coordinates: 52°58′42.4″N 122°29′33.6″W / 52.978444°N 122.492667°WCoordinates: 52°58′42.4″N 122°29′33.6″W / 52.978444°N 122.492667°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | North Cariboo |
| Regional district | Cariboo Regional District |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Incorporated as Village | 1928 |
| Incorporated as Town | 1958 |
| Incorporated as City | 1981 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bob Simpson |
| • Governing body | Quesnel City Council |
| Area | |
| • City | 35.38 km2 (13.66 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 14,207.04 km2 (5,485.37 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 474 m (1,555 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • City | 10,007 |
| • Density | 282.8/km2 (732/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 22,096 |
| • Metro density | 1.6/km2 (4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC−8) |
| Postal code span | V2J |
| Area code(s) | 250, 778, 236 |
| Highways |
 BC 97 BC 26
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| Waterways |
Bowron Lake Fraser River, Quesnel River |
| Website | http://www.quesnel.ca/ |
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Quesnel /kwəˈnɛl/ is a small city that is part of the Cariboo District of British Columbia, Canada. Located nearly evenly between the cities of Prince George and Williams Lake, it is on the main route to northern British Columbia and Yukon. It is claimed to be home to the world's largest gold pan, although this is disputed by Nome, Alaska. The Rocky Mountaineer train also travels through and stops overnight in Quesnel.
Quesnel is sister city to Shiraoi, Japan and Val-d'Or, Quebec. Quesnel hosted the 2000 British Columbia Winter Games, an annual provincial amateur sports competition. To the east of Quesnel lie Wells, Barkerville, and Bowron Lake Provincial Park, a popular canoeing destination in the Cariboo Mountains.
The name is derived from Jules Maurice Quesnel, who accompanied Simon Fraser on his journey to the Pacific Ocean. Quesnel came to be called 'Quesnellemouth' to distinguish it from 'Quesnel Forks', 97 kilometres (60 mi) up river. In 1870 it had been shortened to Quesnelle and by 1900 it was spelled the way it is now. Quesnel is located along the gold mining trail known as the Cariboo Wagon Road and was the commercial centre of the Cariboo Gold Rush. It also marks one end of the Alexander MacKenzie Heritage Trail. Because of its location on the Fraser River it was also an important landing for sternwheelers during 1862 until 1886 and then from 1909 until 1921. The last sternwheeler on the upper Fraser was Quesnel's own namesake craft, and home town product, the Quesnel. Quesnel was incorporated in 1928.
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