Cariboo Region
The Cariboo region originally referred to the gold-field region surrounding Quesnel and Barkerville, but now encompasses the entire area from Cache Creek to Prince George,1 which, presently, is part of the Cariboo Land District.2
The name Cariboo, a French derivative of the Algonquin “xalibu”, was chosen to reflect the abundance of caribou that inhabited the area.3 In this despatch, Douglas notes his adoption of the more convenient orthography of Cariboo, instead of the previous incarnations, though he adds that it should be written Cariboeuf or Rein Deer, the country having been so named from its being a favorite haunt of that species of the deer kind.
The Cariboo country gold discoveries were quite substantial throughout the early 1860's; Akrigg and Akrigg note that a small group of miners who arrived at Antler Creek in early 1861 occasionally found $75 to $100 worth in a single pan.
  • 1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 38.
  • 2. Cariboo Land District, BC Geographical Names Information System.
  • 3. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 38.
  • 4. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Chronicle, 1847-1871 (Victoria: Discovery Press, 1977), 211.
Mentions of this place in the documents
People in this document

Douglas, James

Places in this document

Antler Creek

Barkerville

Prince George

Quesnel