Fraser Valley | |
|---|---|
 Landsat image of Fraser Valley. Sediment deposited by the Fraser River is clearly visible to the west. | |
  Fraser Valley | |
| Coordinates: 49°06′30″N 122°17′30″W / 49.10833°N 122.29167°W | |
| Location | British Columbia, Canada |
| Part of | Fraser Lowland |
| Formed by | Fraser River |
The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the North Shore Mountains, opposite the city of Vancouver BC, to just south of Bellingham, Washington.
In casual usage it typically describes the Fraser River basin downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used outside British Columbia to refer to the entire Fraser River sections including the Fraser Canyon and up from there to its headwaters, but in general British Columbian usage the term refers to the stretch of Lower Mainland west of the Coquihalla River mouth at the inland town of Hope, and includes all of the Canadian portion of the Fraser Lowland as well as the valleys and upland areas flanking it. It is divided into the Upper Fraser Valley and Lower Fraser Valley by the Vedder River mouth at the eastern foothills of Sumas Mountain, although the Lower Valley section upstream of McMillan Island and the Salmon River mouth (at Fort Langley) used to be called the Central Fraser Valley up until 1995 (see Central Fraser Valley Regional District).
Administratively, the Fraser Valley comprises parts of the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District. The main population centres in the Fraser Valley are Greater Vancouver, Abbotsford and Chilliwack.