| Pemberton Pass | |
|---|---|
  Location in British Columbia | |
| Elevation | 505 m (1,657 ft) |
| Location | British Columbia, Canada |
| Range | Pacific Ranges |
| Coordinates | 50°28′11″N122°38′37″W / 50.46972°N 122.64361°W /50.46972; -122.64361 |
| Topo map | NTS92J7Pemberton |
Pemberton Pass, 505 m (1,657 ft), also formerly known asMosquito Pass, is the lowest point on the divide between theLillooet andFraser River drainages, located atBirken, British Columbia,Canada, in the principal valley connecting and betweenPemberton andLillooet. The pass is a steep-sided but flat-bottomed valley (or "thalweg") adjacent toMount Birkenhead and forming a divide between Poole Creek, a tributary of theBirkenhead River, which joins the Lillooet atLillooet Lake, and theGates River which flows northeast fromGates Lake (also known as Birken Lake), at the summit of the pass (also known historically as Summit Lake or Gates Lake), which flows to the Fraser viaAnderson andSeton Lakes and theSeton River.
This pass was historically important in the founding of British Columbia during theFraser River Gold Rush when it was a key link in what was known as the Lakes Route orDouglas Road. In that context it was also known as thePemberton Portage orLong Portage (Seton Portage, at the lower end of Anderson Lake, was the Short Portage). The wagon road constructed in those times continued in use locally despite the route's general abandonment and isolation after the building of theCariboo Road farther to the east via theFraser Canyon, and its road grade remains essentially the same today as the route of the unnumbered route fromMount Currie, onBC Highway 99 toD'Arcy/Nequatque, at the head ofAnderson Lake. Also using the valley is the route of the railway, originally constructed as thePacific Great Eastern but today part of theCanadian National Railway conglomerate.
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