East of the range is the
Rocky Mountain Trench, in this region largely the path of the upper
Fraser River (including the section known as the Grand Canyon of the Fraser which is not to be confused with the better-known
Fraser Canyon nearer
Vancouver). To the west the range verges with the
Cariboo Plateau through an intermediary "foothill" area known as the
Quesnel Highland. Northwestwards the range drops to the Willow River area of the
Nechako Plateau, which lies around
Prince George. South of the range, northeast of
Clearwater a plateau-like mountainous area between the range and the
North Thompson River is part of the
Shuswap Highland, which crosses the North Thompson and continues into the
Shuswap Lake area. N.B. Some classification systems assign the Cariboo Mountains to the Cariboo Plateau, which also includes the small
Marble and
Clear Ranges but it is so large and so mountainous a range, with peaks that rival the highest in the Selkirks, that it does not warrant the "plateau" designation. The Cariboo Mountains subranges include the Palmer Range and the Mowdish Range.
Watersheds and rivers Unlike the other three major subranges of the
Columbia Mountains, the Cariboo Mountains have almost no contact with the
Columbia River or its tributaries, but are entirely bounded by the Fraser and its tributary, the North Thompson River (there is a small exception in the
Canoe River, which runs into the Rocky Mountain Trench from the eastern end of the range. The Canoe River is on the north side of
Albreda Pass, which is the divide between the North Thompson and the Rocky Mountain Trench.
High peaks The highest summits in the range are in a group known as the
Premier Range whose peaks carry the names of eleven
Canadian Prime Ministers, one
British Prime Minister, and one
Premier of British Columbia. The highest peak is
Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier at 3,516 m (11,535 ft). The most recently added name to the group is that of
Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The highest peak in the Cariboo Mountains outside the Premiers Range is
Quanstrom Mountain 3,038 m (9,967 ft), which is the northernmost peak in the range over 3,000 m. ==Sub-ranges==