Fort George Canyon

I spent a day late last fall in a jet boat going up and down Fort George Canyon. We stopped so I could scramble up the rocks at one of the gorges so I could get some photos of the boat going past.

Up until the completion of the railway the Fraser River was the main transport route in and out of Fort George (now Prince George), and the Fort George Canyon was one of the key obstacles that sternwheelers had to navigate. It quickly became known for its dangerous reefs, rapids, and whirlpools. Sternwheelers like the “BX”, “Nechacco” and “Quesnel”, navigated these treacherous waters in the early 1900’s. The BX sank in Ft George Canyon in November 1919 after striking a rock. It was loaded with 2500 bags of cement that perished.

In April 1921, the Quesnel would become the last sternwheeler to run the gauntlet through the canyon. She was relaunched with the intent of resuming the local service abandoned by the BC Express and BX and lasted only three weeks before being wrecked in the canyon. During the salvage of her cargo, which included 100 barrels of beer, she broke free from the rock she was caught on and sank and was never recovered.

Fort George Canyon Provincial Park is just south of Prince George in Northern British Columbia, Canada

If you would like to learn a little bit more about my background in photography you can read the interview @photofeed did with me here

Robert Downie
Love Life, Love Photography

_{All images in this post were taken by and remain the Copyright of Robert Downie - http://www.robertdowniephotography.com}