Some aspects of settlement, land-use and vegetation change in the Revelstoke area, B.C., 1885-1962
Creators: name: Pogue, Basil Gregory
Publisher: name: University of Calgary
Year: 1970
Subjects: subject: HD 1516 C34 P63 1969
subject: Colonization - British Columbia - Revelstoke
subject: Land settlement - British Columbia - Revelstoke
subject: Land use - British Columbia
subject: Plant succession

description: Bibliography: p. 141-147.
description: The purpose of this thesis was to study the effects on the landscape and vegetation of the Revelstoke area of the im­pact of white settlement during the period 1885-1962. In the main, evidence put forward was culled from historical and carto­graphic sources and little fieldwork was carried out. As a pre­liminary to the main body of the thesis brief attention is given to what is known of exploration and other activity in the area prior to 1885. Thereafter the subject matter is developed in a series of chapters dealing with transportation, settlements and industry. Changes in vegetation are discussed in Chapter Five and the hazards of flooding in Chapter Six. Chapter ·rwo surveys the development of railways and roads in the Kootenay area in general during the period 1885-1962. The network centred on the main CPR line with various north­south railways and roads linking to,,ms in the district to it. A main road link with the rest of Canada did not appear until 1940, when the Trans-Canada Highway was completed. Settlement took two main forms: nucleated settlements such as Revelstoke and Arrowhead, and scattered milling or agri­cultural communities such as Wigwam or Xount Cartier. Chapter Three outlines the development of these settlements. Much of the latter part of the chapter is spent in describing the vari­ous legislative influences on developnent of settlement. Chapter Four examines the growth of industries. Since at the beginning of the century the area was rich in timber re­sources, and since it was able to satisfy demands for timber from the Prairies, a large lumber industry developed. This industry reached a peak of activity about 1910, from which it has since declined. Possibilities for successful mining were few. Agriculture was pursued in the valley, but never developed into more than a supplier of local markets. At the beginning of the 1960's tourism was a growth industry in Revelstoke, ser­vicing the Trans-Canada Highway, but the valley to the south was in economic decline. As a result of lumbering being the main industry the major changes in the landscape have been in forest cover, much of which has been converted from mature cedar/hemlock to immature pine/Douglas fir associations. Not all the changes, however, were due solely to logging. Fires seem to have been an import­ant cause of successional change, though the relative percent­age of outbreaks of man-made as opposed to natural fires has been impossible to determine precisely. Flooding, also, has been a factor in life in the valley and is examined in Chapter Six. The river has on several occasions endangered the Revel­stoke townsite by eroding the river bank. Farming in the valley has been precarious since lands along the river were frequently flooded, destroying crops. The concluding chapter summarises the thesis. Some recommendations are made regarding collection and preservation of data on landscape history of the Kootenay area and also regarding conservation of old forest habitats.