The riding was largely rural and wilderness in character despite its proximity to the
Lower Mainland, it spanned the
Bridge River-
Lillooet,
Ashcroft-
Thompson Canyon,
Fraser Canyon,
Nicola, and
Similkameen Districts. Since creation its shape remained relatively unchanged despite some minor boundary adjustments, with (e.g.)
Ashcroft-
Cache Creek joining
Cariboo South in some elections and the
Similkameen area joined to one of the
Okanagan ridings. Its core towns — Lillooet, Lytton, Yale, Boston Bar, Hope, Princeton, Merritt, and Spences Bridge remained permanently in the riding until its demise. Its boundary was roughly described by a quadrangle formed by and including the towns of: •
Gold Bridge-
Bralorne •
Hope •
Keremeos •
Cache Creek-
Ashcroft Other towns within the riding are: •
Hedley •
Princeton •
Tulameen •
Coalmont •
Aspen Grove •
Logan Lake •
Lac le Jeune •
Lower Nicola •
Spences Bridge •
Lytton •
Boston Bar-
North Bend •
Spuzzum •
Hope •
Lillooet •
Shalalth-
Seton Portage •
Fountain •
Pavilion •
Hat Creek The riding's largest and therefore electorally dominant population centre was
Merritt. The riding was heavily mountainous and all its towns were all fairly isolated from each other by terrain and the necessarily difficult roads of the canyons and mountain valleys interconnecting them. Many of the electorate are scattered through smaller communities throughout the region, particularly on
Indian reserves and in recreational property areas of the
Bridge River Country, the
Nicola-
Similkameen and the
Fraser Canyon. Yale-Lillooet had the highest proportion of aboriginal voters in southern
British Columbia and one of the highest proportions in the province. All reserves and local bands of the
Nlaka'pamux and
Nicola peoples were included within the riding, as well as those of the Upper
St'at'imc and the upriver
Sto:lo around
Hope and
Yale. == History ==