Tuesday, September 27, 2011

ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is K

and K stands for the Kootenays




Kootenay, which is the name used for the south east corner of British Columbia, comes from the Kootenay First Nation, a group of linguistically distinct Native people who occupied the eastern part of the Kootenays, and whose territory extends into northern Washington, Idaho and Montana.


The western portion of the Kootenay district was also occupied by Interior Salishan Natives,  related to the Coastal people, or by Thompson River-Shuswap Natives.

About 100 years ago prospectors came to the West Kootenays, attracted by its rich ore deposits, and mining and ghost towns haunt the area, silent relics of past treasures.

Ghost town of Slocan Mines

Geographically the Kootenays are spectacular.  Four parallel mountain ranges march successively across the southeastern B.C. landscape, - the Monashees, followed by the rugged Selkirks, and further east the Purcells, and then the Rockies.


Kootenay Lake , which is 65 miles long, runs in a north south direction, and the Kootenay river joins with the Columbia near Castlegar.


The part of the Crowsnest Highway east of Grand Forks is called the Skyway, and it is the highest elevation paved highway in Canada.  The stretch between Salmo and Creston, where avalanches are a fact of life, is infamous for dangerous driving conditions in the winter.

The Salmo Creston Pass

The Kootenays are a marvelous part of British Columbia.

There is skiing and hot springs, wildlife and parks. wonderful backroads
to travel and all those mysterious ghost towns
to investigate.

Here is a pictures of the caves at the Ainsworth Hot Springs
and below it a picture of the famous Cody Caves, which heat the springs at Ainsworth.




The Kootenays are a super place to spend some time if you are celebrating the letter K
and for more interesting K's visit here at ABC Wednesday.

14 comments:

Chubskulit Rose said...

Wow that lake is gorgeous!

Kids at Heart is one of my ABC this week.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Wow. Spectacular place, this Kootenay is. I loved learning all about it-although the warm springs seem inviting, I'm not sure if I could handle being in a cave like that.

Roger Owen Green said...

not familiar, but quite spectacular
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Reader Wil said...

What a fascinating area is Kootenay! And the hot water springs in a cave are very special! I love mountains and I regret it that we have none in my country.

Chronicles of Illusions said...

wow - love these shots and all the info - this is a great post for K

Unknown said...

My sister once lived just south of Kootenay in northeast Washington. What a spectacular place to be and live! As are you photos of it! Thanks for all the info.
HelenMac
ABC Team

jabblog said...

What a wonderful tour you gave us. I was astonished to see a cyclist on a narrow track on the mountainside.
Beautiful photos of a fabulous landscape.

EG CameraGirl said...

AH! The Kootenays sure are beautiful!

Carver said...

Excellent post. Very interesting narrative and the photography is fantastic. What beautiful scenery.

Gigi Ann said...

First time I heard of the Kootenays. It looks like a great place to visit.

The Poet said...

Hello.
Love the scenery & your photos are awesome!
Kootenay seems like a very interesting place with lots of history.

Great post.

Thanks for sharing.

Kiss Me With Desire

Tumblewords: said...

It IS indeed spectacular country - huge and gorgeous.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

... or even if you're NOT celebrating the letter "K" -- it's just a beautiful place and I would love to come bsck again someday. Soon.

ChrisJ said...

Learned a lot here today. Sounds wonderful -- but mosquitoes?? The North Country's one BIG drawback for me. They eat me alive.