Thompson-Nicola Regional District Regional District
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) in British Columbia is a land of rich history, dating back over 10,000 years. The first inhabitants of the region were the Nlaka'pamux, Secwepemc, and Ktunaxa First Nations, who have called the area home for thousands of years. In the 1800s, the region was opened up to European settlement, and ranching and forestry became the major industries.
Mapped Location
Thompson-Nicola Regional District: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Thompson-Nicola Regional District
- Feature Type: Regional District
- Regional District Administrative Centre: City of Kamloops
- Established: Friday, November 24, 1967
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Thompson-Nicola Regional District
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District | Official |
A Selected Bibliography of Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Regional District
A compilation of essential readings detailing the history, geography, and culture of the region.
DeeDee's Indigenous dream families between St. Elmo and Lytton by Vera Isabel Creighton
Published in 2022 by Vera Isabel Creighton, DeeDee's Indigenous dream families between St. Elmo and Lytton explores the deeply intertwined familial, cultural, and geographic histories of Indigenous communities inhabiting the rugged corridor between St. Elmo and Lytton in British Columbia. Drawing on regional archives, personal narratives, and local genealogies, the book documents the enduring social networks and resilience of families navigating the disruptions of colonial encroachment along the Fraser Canyon. A keen insight drawn from the text is how it shifts the focus away from macroeconomic frontier histories to center kinship and oral tradition, revealing how indigenous family structures served as the primary vehicle for cultural survival and continuity through decades of systemic displacement
122 pages
Desiderata
Bittersweet oasis a history of Ashcroft and district, 1885-2002 by Brian Belton
Bittersweet Oasis: A History of Ashcroft and District, 1885-2002, originally authored by Brian Belton, provides a comprehensive historical account of the development of the village of Ashcroft in British Columbia's Thompson region. The book chronicles Ashcroft's foundational years as the bustling "Gateway to the Cariboo," detailing how its position at the intersection of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Cariboo Wagon Road fueled its early economic boom. It further explores the community's cultural and economic evolution, highlighting the vital contributions of early pioneers, Chinese laborers, and a thriving agricultural sector famous for its tomatoes and potatoes. Ultimately, the narrative captures the enduring resilience of the district's residents as they successfully navigated devastating fires, shifts in regional transportation routes, and changing industries over more than a century.
160 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, portraits ; 29 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Kamloops one hundred years of community, 1893-1993 by Wilf Schmidt, Wayne R. Norton
In this unique collection of writing and photography, nineteen skilled individuals have explored various facets of Kamloops' colorful past, present and future. Through their eyes, we see the landscapes, the city scenes and the people who made life in this southwestern B.C. community interesting and exciting. Kamloops: One Hundred Years of Community has an historic hand-tinted 1937 photograph as a four-color wrap-around cover. It also contains 87 black and white photographs, many previously unpublished. Soft cover, 8 1/2" x 11" horizontal format.
148 p. : ill. ; 22 x 28 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Kamloops meeting of the waters : an illustrated history by Ken Favrholdt, Lynne Schuyler Bracewell, Greater Kamloops Chamber of Commerce
Ken Favrholdt and Lynne Schuyler Bracewell’s Kamloops meeting of the waters: an illustrated history chronicles the rich civic and commercial evolution at the strategic confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers in the arid interior plateau of British Columbia. Set against the sprawling sagebrush hills and vital river corridors traditionally stewarded by the Secwepemc people, the narrative details how early fur traders, gold prospectors, and overland ranching families navigated profound geographic isolation by establishing cooperative agrarian and mercantile networks. By tracing the collaborative labor required to transition from a transient Hudson's Bay Company trading post into a major Canadian Pacific Railway and agricultural hub, the text reveals how these dispersed inland residents forged tight-knit civic alliances to survive the extreme seasonal demands of the high desert environment. Ultimately, this illustrated history documents how the shared utilization of the region's defining waterways successfully transformed a remote frontier crossroads into a resilient, highly connected urban community that continues to anchor the British Columbia interior.
111 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Kamloops a history of the district up to 1914 by Ruth Balf
Why that name? place names of Kamloops district by Mary Balf
Why that name? place names of Kamloops district explores the linguistic footprint and settlement patterns etched into the semi-arid, rugged expanse of British Columbia's southern Interior Plateau. Balf details how the region's defining topographical feature—the strategic confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers—created a vital inland nexus that channeled centuries of human movement, from early Secwepemc (Shuswap) settlements to the sprawling overland routes of the fur trade and subsequent gold rushes. By decoding the origins behind local toponyms, the narrative reveals how the formidable physical barriers of steep, arid river canyons and the immense, open bunchgrass prairies strictly dictated where pioneers could establish vital ferry crossings, vast cattle ranches, and critical railway alignments. Ultimately, the book serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the complex riverine geography and stark environmental extremes of this inland Pacific Northwest frontier fundamentally anchored the enduring identity and physical footprint of the Kamloops district.
48 pages ; 22 cm
Non-circulating [ 2 ]
Kamloops cattlemen one hundred years of trail dust by T. Alex Bulman
Kamloops cattlemen one hundred years of trail dust examines the extensive livestock-ranching economy and grueling overland cattle drives situated across the vast, semi-arid interior plateau of south-central British Columbia. Bulman details how the region's formidable interior topography—specifically the sprawling, sun-baked bunchgrass steppes of the Thompson River valley, the rugged, heavily timbered alpine summer ranges, and the vital, isolated riparian watering corridors—strictly dictated the margins of massive cattle operations and seasonal transhumance routes. By mapping the grueling establishment of expansive pioneer ranches and the arduous transit of herds across unforgiving, arid distances to distant railheads and markets, the narrative highlights how this specific high-desert geography anchored a deeply resilient, livestock-dependent frontier economy. Ultimately, this agricultural record serves as a localized spatial history, demonstrating how the immense overland distances, harsh semi-arid climate, and vital bunchgrass forage of this Pacific Northwest interior fundamentally shaped the highly rugged, ranching-driven character of the early Kamloops region.
183 pages illustrations, map (on lining papers), portraits 24 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
- 70 Mile House
- Aberdeen
- Adams Lake
- Agate
- Village of Ashcroft
- Aspen Grove
- Avola
- Barnhartvale
- District of Barriere
- Batchelor Hills
- Beresford
- Bestwick
- Big Bar Creek
- Birch Island
- Black Pines
- Blackloam
- Blackpool
- Blucher Hall
- Blue River
- Boston Flats
- Brigade Lake
- Brocklehurst
- Brookmere
- Village of Cache Creek
- Cahilty
- Campbell Creek
- Canford
- Village of Chase
- Chasm
- Cherry Creek
- Chinook Cove
- Chu Chua
- Clapperton
- District of Clearwater
- Village of Clinton
- Collettville
- Copper Creek
- Coutlee
- Coyle
- Criss Creek
- Dallas
- Darfield
- Douglas Lake
- Duck Range
- Dufferin
- Exlou
- Heffley Creek
- Holmwood
- Jesmond
- Juniper Ridge
- City of Kamloops
- Kanaka Bar
- Kelly Lake
- Knutsford
- Lac Le Jeune
- Little Fort
- District of Logan Lake
- Loon Lake
- Louis Creek
- Lower Nicola
- Village of Lytton
- Martin Prairie
- McLure
- City of Merritt
- Monte Creek
- Monte Lake
- Nicola
- North Bonaparte
- North Kamloops
- Oak Hills
- Pinantan Lake
- Powers Addition
- Pritchard
- Quilchena
- Rayleigh
- Sahali
- Savona
- Shulus
- Shuswap
- Six Mile Ranch
- Spatsum
- Spences Bridge
- Stillwater
- Stump Lake
- Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality
- Tobiano
- Tranquille
- Turtle Valley
- Valleyview
- Vavenby
- Vidette
- Vinsulla
- Walhachin
- Westsyde
- Westwold
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2023-08-03