Blue River, British Columbia
Blue River is a small community of 175 residents at the 2021 census in British Columbia, situated on Highway 5 about halfway between Kamloops and Jasper, Alberta It is located at the confluence of the Blue and North Thompson Rivers. The local economy is supported by logging, tourism and transportation industries.
Geography
Blue River lies in a wide, gravelly part of the North Thompson River valley. Its podzolic soils are strongly acidic and coarse, with abundant sand, gravel and stones. Drainage is not as rapid as would be expected from the soils' coarse texture because the subsoils tend to be cemented.The forests and mountains around Blue River have plentiful big game such as deer, moose, black and grizzly bears, and caribou. Birds include osprey, eagles, woodpeckers and ravens. The mountain pine beetle has become the area's most significant insect.
Lodgepole pine is the most common tree at Blue River, with strong reproduction offsetting impacts from the mountain pine beetle. Other common native conifers are Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar. Among deciduous trees, the black cottonwood is largest; trembling aspen and paper birch are also prominent. Non-native trees which may be seen in Blue River include green ash, littleleaf linden, silver maple, and Norway maple. Sugar maple, burr oak, northern red oak, and butternut formerly thrived at the CNR Gardens.