Fraser (redirected from Fraser, (John) Malcolm)

Fraser, river, Canada

Fraser, chief river of British Columbia, Canada, c.850 mi (1,370 km) long. It rises in the Rocky Mts., at Yellowhead Pass, near the British Columbia–Alta. line and flows northwest through the Rocky Mt. Trench to Prince George, thence south and west to the Strait of Georgia at Vancouver. Its chief tributaries are the Nechako, Quesnel, Chilcotin, and Thompson rivers. It is navigable to Yale, c.80 mi (130 km) upstream. The Fraser River canyon, which begins at Yale, is noted for its scenery; its mountain walls rise more than 3,000 ft (914 m). The river contains the chief spawning grounds in North America for the Pacific salmon. Logging is important along the upper course. The Fraser delta is the most fertile agricultural region of British Columbia; dairying and truck farming are important. The delta has the largest concentration of people in W Canada. Sections of the river are followed by oil and gas pipelines as well as transcontinental rail and highway routes. The Fraser River was visited by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the Canadian explorer, who followed its upper course on his expedition (1793) to the Pacific Ocean and takes its name from Simon Fraser, the Canadian explorer and fur trader, who followed (1808) the river to its mouth, establishing fur-trading posts along the way. The river valley was the domain of the fur traders until the gold rush of 1858. After the discovery of gold (1859) in the Cariboo dist., on the river's upper reaches, the government built a road to serve the valley, and settlement of the region followed.

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Fraser, city, United States

Fraser, city (1990 pop. 13,899), Macomb co., SE Mich., a suburb of Detroit; inc. as a village 1894, as a city 1957. Automated machine tools and steel products are manufactured there.

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Fraser¹

1. (John) Malcolm. born 1930, Australian statesman; prime minister of Australia (1975--83)

2. Peter. 1884--1950, New Zealand statesman, born in Scotland; prime minister (1940--49)

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Fraser²

a river in SW Canada, in S central British Columbia, flowing northwest, south, and west through spectacular canyons in the Coast Mountains to the Strait of Georgia. Length: 1370 km (850 miles)

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Fraser 

an intermontane lava plateau in North America, in the southern Canadian Cordilleras, that forms part of the Interior Plateaus of British Columbia. Elevations range from 600 to 1,800 m, and island volcanic mountains reach elevations of 2,400 m. The terrain is gently sloping and hilly and is overlain by glacial deposits. The climate is temperate and dry. Steppe vegetation grows in the valleys, and forest-steppe vegetation in the uplands. Economic activity includes grain farming and, in the valleys, irrigation farming; in addition, the plateau is used for pasturing.

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Fraser 

a river in southwestern Canada. The Fraser rises in the Rocky Mountains, crosses the Interior Plateaus of British Columbia, and empties near Vancouver into the Strait of Georgia of the Pacific Ocean. The Fraser is 1,370 km long and drains an area of about 220,000 sq km. It is fed primarily by snow and rain. The mean flow rate is 3,550 cu m per sec. High water occurs from May through September. The river freezes over in November or December, and the ice breaks up in March or April. The Fraser is navigable for 180 km from its mouth. A fossil-fuel-fired steam power plant is located by the river. The city of New Westminster is located near the Fraser’s mouth.