State/Province British Columbia Country Canada Province British Columbia Mountains The Thumb | Area 47,901 km² Highest point The Thumb Parent range Interior Mountains | |
 | ||
The Omineca Mountains, also known as "the Ominecas", are a group of remote mountain ranges in north-central British Columbia, Canada. They are bounded by the Finlay River on the north, the Rocky Mountain Trench (here filled by Lake Williston) on the east, the Nation Lakes on the south, and the upper reaches of the Omineca River on the west. They form a section of the Continental Divide, that, in this region, separates water drainage between the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. The lower course of the Omineca River flows through the heart of the range. To the south of the Ominecas is the Nechako Plateau, to the west the Skeena Mountains and Hazelton Mountains, to the north the Spatsizi Plateau and the Stikine Ranges, while east across the Rocky Mountain Trench are the Muskwa Ranges.
Contents
Map of Omineca Mountains, Peace River B, BC, Canada
The usage "the Omineca" or "the Omineca Country" refers to the entire area plus some of the northern Nechako Plateau adjacent to the Ominecas, where there has been more settlement and, in the past, extensive gold-mining exploration and prospecting (in the same period as the Omineca, Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes, i.e. 1860s).