Prince George land and resources
Prince George sits where the Nechako meets the Fraser, in sub-boreal spruce forest on the Interior Plateau. Timber built the city; mines, dams, pipelines and farms ring it. Here is the ground truth, with a source on every figure.
What these numbers tell you
The headline figures give the scale; the charts show how it changes. Check each source’s geographic boundary and measurement year before comparing city, watershed and regional figures.
Terms explained
- m³
- Cubic metres, a measure of volume.
- m³/s
- Cubic metres per second, a measure of flowing water.
- AAC
- Allowable annual cut, a timber-harvest limit for a defined area.
- TSA
- Timber supply area.
- ha
- Hectares, a measure of land area.
Elevation, downtown
576m
Airport: 691.3 m
City land area
316.7km²
2021 Census
Allowable annual cut, Prince George TSA
6.92M m³
Since August 28, 2025
Timber harvested, 2025
3.16M m³
Down 68% from 2012
Operating mines within 200 km
7
Gold, copper, molybdenum and coal
Peace River hydro capacity
4,781MW
36% of BC Hydro's capacity
Farms in Fraser-Fort George, 2021
456
68,627 ha of farmland
City water from Nechako wells
93.6%
Of 10.7 million m³ pumped in 2024
Geography
Where the city sits
- Coordinates
- 53.9131° N, 122.7453° W
- Elevation
- 576 m downtown, 691.3 m at the airport. The airport sits on the plateau above the river valley, about 115 m higher than downtown at the confluence.
- Ecosystem
- Sub-Boreal Spruce (SBS) zone; downtown is in the SBSmh, moist hot subzone. Nechako Lowland ecosection, Fraser Basin ecoregion.
- Natural disturbance type
- NDT3, ecosystems with frequent stand-initiating events (fire)
Sources: Canadian Geographical Names; NRCan elevation model; ECCC station 1096450; BC BEC map, retrieved September 30, 2026.
How far to…
Straight-line distance, km. Roads are longer.
- Vanderhoof83 W
- Quesnel105 S
- Fort St. James115 WNW
- Mackenzie159 N
- McBride183 ESE
- Valemount260 ESE
- Dawson Creek261 NE
- Fort St. John287 NNE
- Smithers303 WNW
- Jasper, AB330 ESE
- Kamloops395 SSE
- Prince Rupert496 W
- Vancouver518 S
- Edmonton, AB610 E
Source: Computed from Canadian Geographical Names coordinates, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Sub-Boreal Spruce country
The city and its surroundings lie in the Sub-Boreal Spruce zone of BC's biogeoclimatic classification. Five subzones and variants meet around Prince George. In the timber supply area, lodgepole pine, spruce and subalpine fir lead most stands, and many pine stands grew back after major fires.
- SBSmhMoist hot
- SBSdw3Dry warm, Stuart variant
- SBSmk1Moist cool, Mossvale variant
- SBSwk1Wet cool, Willow variant
- SBSvkVery wet cool
SBSmh (highlighted) covers downtown.
Source: BC Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification map; AAC Rationale for Prince George TSA, October 2017, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Peaks and lakes nearby
- 5 km
Cranbrook Hill hill
- 13 km
Tabor Lake lake
- 19 km
Mount Tabor mountain
- 28 km
Ness Lake lake
- 36 km
Eaglet Lake lake
- 55 km
Purden Lake lake
- 142 km
Stuart Lake lake
- 244 km
Williston Lake reservoir
Reservoir behind the W.A.C. Bennett Dam
- 253 km
Mount Robson mountain
Highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, 3,954 m (BC Parks)
Source: Canadian Geographical Names Database (coordinates); BC Parks (Mount Robson elevation); distances computed from the city's coordinates, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Parks and protected areas
- 21 km
West Lake Park
Provincial park, 1981 · 256 ha
- 26 km
Fort George Canyon Park
Provincial park, 2000 · 178 ha
- 36 km
Eskers Park
Provincial park, 1987 · 4,044 ha
- 39 km
Dahl Lake Park
Provincial park, 1981 · 1,583 ha
- 46 km
Aleza Lake Ecological Reserve
Ecological reserve, 1978 · 269 ha
- 48 km
Fraser River Park
Provincial park, 2000 · 4,899 ha
- 55 km
Purden Lake Park
Provincial park, 1971 · 2,521 ha
- 63 km
Crooked River Park
Provincial park, 1965 · 963 ha
- 75 km
Sugarbowl-Grizzly Den Park
Provincial park, 2000 · 22,529 ha
- 95 km
Ancient Forest/Chun T'oh Whudujut Park
Provincial park, 2016 · 11,190 ha
Inland temperate rainforest; BC Parks says western redcedars along the boardwalk may be 2,000 years old
- 104 km
Carp Lake Park
Provincial park, 1973 · 38,149 ha
- 139 km
Bowron Lake Park
Provincial park, 1961 · 139,700 ha
Source: BC Parks, Ecological Reserves and Protected Areas, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Rivers and groundwater
Fraser River length
1,375km
BC's longest river
Fraser basin
234,000km²
Whole river, to the Pacific
Nechako basin at Prince George
46,000km²
Joins the Fraser 275 km below the Kenney Dam
Lower Nechako River aquifer
94km²
Sand and gravel; the city's main water source
How much land drains past each gauge
The Fraser more than doubles its catchment at Prince George: 32,430 km² drains past Shelley just above the confluence, 79,880 km² past South Fort George just below it.
Show the table
| Station | ID | km² |
|---|---|---|
| Fraser River at McBride | 08KA005 | 6,882 |
| Nechako River at Vanderhoof | 08JC001 | 25,220 |
| Fraser River at ShelleyJust above the confluence | 08KB001 | 32,430 |
| Nechako River at Isle Pierre | 08JC002 | 42,750 |
| Fraser River at South Fort GeorgeJust below the confluence, in the city | 08KE018 | 79,880 |
| Fraser River at Hope | 08MF005 | 216,600 |
| Fraser River at Mission | 08MH024 | 228,100 |
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, hydrometric station metadata (HYDAT), as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
A regulated river
The Nechako joins the Fraser at Prince George about 275 km downstream of the Kenney Dam. The dam (1952) created the roughly 910 km² Nechako Reservoir; about 70% of the reservoir's outflow is diverted west through the Coast Mountains to Rio Tinto's Kemano powerhouse, which supplies the aluminium smelter at Kitimat.
Source: Ecofish Research for the Nechako Water Engagement Initiative, December 2022. Report a data problem
The aquifer under the Nechako
Prince George drinks groundwater, not river water. The City of Prince George's drinking water supply wells on the Nechako (1010 Ospika Boulevard and Fishtrap Island) are recorded in this aquifer in the provincial well database. In 2024, the Nechako-side wells supplied 93.6% of the city’s water.
- AquiferNo. 92, Lower Nechako River
- TypeUnconfined sand and gravel
- ProductivityHigh
- Vulnerability to contaminationHigh
Live river levels and drinking water quality
Source: BC GWELLS, aquifer 92; City of Prince George 2024 water system report, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Forests
The Prince George Timber Supply Area covers about 7.97 million hectares of the north-central Interior, across the Prince George Natural Resource District and Stuart Nechako Natural Resource District. It includes Prince George, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake and smaller communities.
Allowable annual cut
6,917,231m³
Effective August 28, 2025; peak was 14.9 million in 2004
Timber harvesting land base
3.07M ha
Of 5.24 M ha of Crown forest
Pine beetle: volume killed
40%
Across 60% of the harvesting land base
Harvest vs AAC, 2025
46%
3.16 M m³ scaled; year-end AAC 6.92 M m³
Harvest against the allowable cut
Timber volume scaled (measured) and billed each month for timber harvested in the Prince George TSA (management unit TSA 24), all tenures, all species and products, normal and cruise-based billing. Waste billing excluded. Monthly totals can be negative when earlier bills are corrected. 2026 covers 8 months. AAC shown as in effect at year end.
Show the table
| Year | Scaled, m³ | AAC, m³ | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 9,825,401 | 12,500,000 | 79% |
| 2013 | 9,741,385 | 12,500,000 | 78% |
| 2014 | 8,258,758 | 12,500,000 | 66% |
| 2015 | 8,990,168 | 12,500,000 | 72% |
| 2016 | 8,318,204 | 12,500,000 | 67% |
| 2017 | 9,628,929 | 8,350,000 | 115% |
| 2018 | 8,291,808 | 8,350,000 | 99% |
| 2019 | 7,052,949 | 8,350,000 | 84% |
| 2020 | 5,580,518 | 8,350,000 | 67% |
| 2021 | 5,985,406 | 8,350,000 | 72% |
| 2022 | 5,342,458 | 7,350,000 | 73% |
| 2023 | 3,560,301 | 7,350,000 | 48% |
| 2024 | 3,374,793 | 7,350,000 | 46% |
| 2025 | 3,162,600 | 6,917,231 | 46% |
| 2026 (8 mo) | 1,972,713 | 6,917,231 | – |
Source: BC Ministry of Forests, Harvest Billing System, Mark Monthly Scaling History report, as of scaling to Aug 2026, retrieved September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Allowable cut since 1996
- January 19969.36 M m³
Set in 1996
- June 200212.24 M m³
Uplift for the mountain pine beetle outbreak, including 3 million m³ for beetle management and salvage
- October 200414.94 M m³
Second beetle uplift; 5.7 million m³ a year for beetle management and salvage
- January 201112.50 M m³
Decreased to 12.5 million m³, still including beetle salvage volume
- October 20178.35 M m³
New determination: 8.35 million m³ for five years, then 7.35 million
- October 20227.35 M m³
Scheduled step-down from the 2017 determination
- August 20256.92 M m³
Adjusted for community forest K1N expansion
Orange bars: uplifts to salvage beetle-killed pine.
Source: BC Ministry of Forests, 2017 AAC rationale and TSA page, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Logging follows the seasons
Average volume scaled per month, 2021–2025, thousand m³. Spring break-up, when thawing roads can’t carry log trucks, shows as the April–May dip.
Source: BC Ministry of Forests, Harvest Billing System, Mark Monthly Scaling History report, as of 2021–2025. Report a data problem
What grows on the harvesting land base
Leading species, share of the timber harvesting land base
- Lodgepole pine49%
- Spruce33%
- Subalpine fir9%
- Deciduous6%
- Douglas-fir2%
- Cedar1%
Source: AAC Rationale for Prince George TSA, October 2017, as of 2017. Report a data problem
Mountain pine beetle
The outbreak reached the TSA in 2001 and peaked in 2004 in the Vanderhoof and Prince George forest districts, 2006 in Fort St. James; 2005 to 2007 in the south-central TSA.
About 60% of the timber harvesting land base was affected by the mountain pine beetle, with an estimated 40% of total volume killed. By 2017 the average beetle-killed tree had been dead about 10 years, and the analysis assumed sawlog value is fully lost 23 years after death.
The province raised the cut twice to salvage dead pine, to 14.9 million m³ in 2004, and has lowered it in steps since 2011.
Source: AAC Rationale for Prince George TSA, October 2017, as of 2017. Report a data problem
Mills in the city
Estimated capacity: 776 million board feet of lumber and 1,064 thousand tonnes of pulp a year
Lakeland Mills
Sinclar Group · sawmill
- 166 million board feet of lumber
Intercontinental Pulp
Canfor · pulp mill
- 313 thousand tonnes of pulp
Prince George Pulp and Paper
Canfor · pulp and paper mill
- 268 thousand tonnes of pulp
- 156 thousand tonnes of paper
Canfor lists the paper operation as Prince George Specialty Paper (kraft paper)
Northwood Pulp
Canfor · pulp mill
- 483 thousand tonnes of pulp
Canfor announced its permanent closure on July 14, 2026, removing about 300,000 tonnes a year of pulp and affecting about 300 employees. Canfor
Prince George Sawmill
Canfor · sawmill
- 361 million board feet of lumber
- 384 thousand bone-dry units of chips
Carrier Lumber
Carrier Lumber Ltd. · sawmill
- 249 million board feet of lumber
Drax pellet plant
Drax · pellet plant
- 157 thousand tonnes of pellets
Operating mills in the city, with the province's estimated annual capacity. Lumber in million board feet (MMfbm), pulp, paper and pellets in thousand tonnes, chips in thousand bone-dry units. The survey also lists operating sawmills within about 75 km: Dunkley Lumber at Hixon and Canfor at Bear Lake.
Source: BC Major Timber Processing Facilities (Mill List Survey), DataBC, as of dataset updated June 17, 2026. Report a data problem
Mining and energy
Operating mines within 200 km
Cariboo Gold
134 kmGold
Operating · Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd.
Mount Milligan
156 kmCopperGold
Operating year-round · Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.
Between Fort St. James and Mackenzie. Construction began in 2010 and production in August 2013.
Gibraltar
157 kmCopperMolybdenum
Operating year-round · Gibraltar Mines Ltd.
Near Williams Lake; described as the largest employer in the Cariboo region.
Blackwater
162 kmGoldSilver
Operating · BW Gold Ltd. (Artemis Gold)
Open pit with a planned milling capacity of 60,000 tonnes a day over 17 years.
Quintette Coal
166 kmMetallurgical coal
Operating · Conuma Mining Services Limited
South of Tumbler Ridge; operated 1982 to 2000 and is being reopened by Conuma.
Mount Polley
169 kmCopperGoldSilver
Operating · Mount Polley Mining Corporation
Near Likely; opened in 1997.
Willow Creek
193 kmMetallurgical coal
Operating year-round · Conuma Resources Limited
Southwest of Chetwynd near the Pine Pass.
Idle mines and local quarries
- Endako Mine (molybdenum, 155 km): care and maintenance since december 2015. At Fraser Lake; began operations in 1965.
- Kemess Mine (copper, gold, 426 km): care and maintenance. About 430 km northwest of Prince George (BC Mine Information). Past-producing Kemess South plus the Kemess Underground and Kemess East projects.
- MINFILE lists two producing industrial-mineral sites close to the city: the Giscome limestone quarry about 34 km east-northeast and the Dahl Lake limestone and aggregate quarry about 38 km west. MINFILE
Source: BC Mine Information (Government of British Columbia): mine status, permittee, commodities and location, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Dams that shape the region
| Dam | Height | Built | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenney DamRio Tinto · Nechako River, forms the Nechako Reservoir | 96 m | 1952 | 150 km |
| Skins Lake SpillwayRio Tinto · Releases Nechako Reservoir water to the Cheslatta and Nechako rivers | 20 m | 1953 | 214 km |
| Peace Canyon DamBC Hydro · Peace River | 61 m | 1980 | 235 km |
| W.A.C. Bennett DamBC Hydro · Peace River, forms Williston Lake | 183 m | 1967 | 237 km |
| John Horgan Dam (formerly Site C)BC Hydro · Peace River | 60 m | 2025 | 279 km |
Source: BC dam registry; BC Hydro, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Peace River generating stations
Between 235 and 280 km north of the city, BC Hydro’s three Peace River stations total 4,781 MW, 36% of the utility’s capacity and about 43% of its yearly output.
- G.M. Shrum (1968)2,857 MW
- John Horgan (2025)1,230 MW
- Peace Canyon (1980)694 MW
Source: BC Hydro, Peace Region facilities, as of September 30, 2026. Report a data problem
Refinery
The Prince George Refinery, owned by Tidewater Midstream, is a 12,000 barrel-a-day light oil refinery producing mainly low-sulphur diesel and gasoline, and the only refinery in the BC Interior. Tidewater Renewables' 3,000 barrel-a-day renewable diesel plant sits on the same site; the Province called it Canada's first stand-alone renewable diesel refinery (about 170 million litres a year).
Sources: Tidewater Midstream; BC Government News, June 16, 2023, retrieved September 30, 2026.
Natural gas pipeline
Enbridge's Westcoast (BC Pipeline) natural gas system runs 3,152 km from near Fort Nelson south to the US border at Sumas. Construction of its Sunrise Expansion, about 139 km of new 42-inch looping adding 300 million cubic feet a day of capacity, started with a pipe-signing ceremony in Prince George on July 20, 2026; it was approved in April 2026 and is due in service by late 2028.
Sources: Canada Energy Regulator; Enbridge, retrieved September 30, 2026.
Farmland
Farms, 2021
456
558 in 2011
Total farm area
68,627ha
2021
Land in crops
17,104ha
Down 31% since 2011
Hay farms
151
33% of farms: the most common type
How farmland is used
All land uses, 2021
| Use | Hectares | Farms reporting |
|---|---|---|
| Natural land for pasture | 25,731 | 248 |
| Land in crops | 17,104 | 337 |
| Woodlands and wetlands | 11,456 | 223 |
| Tame or seeded pasture | 9,005 | 175 |
| All other land | 5,258 | 363 |
| Summerfallow | 59 | 14 |
Hectares are as reported by farm operators. Some small categories are suppressed or rounded by Statistics Canada. Farm-type counts are by the farm's main commodity (NAICS).
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture 2011, 2016 and 2021, as of 2021. Report a data problem
Farms by main activity, 2021
- Hay farming33.1% 151
- Beef cattle ranching21.9% 100
- Horse and other equine9.9% 45
- Animal combination farming5.9% 27
- Poultry and egg4.8% 22
- Sheep and goat4.4% 20
- Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture3.9% 18
- Vegetable and melon3.5% 16
- Other miscellaneous crops3.1% 14
- Fruit and tree nut2.2% 10
- Hog and pig2.0% 9
- Dairy1.3% 6
- Apiculture (bees)1.3% 6
Source: Statistics Canada, table 32-10-0231, as of 2021. Report a data problem
Agricultural Land Reserve
The Agricultural Land Commission's North administrative region, which includes Fraser-Fort George along with Bulkley-Nechako, Kitimat-Stikine, Peace River, North Coast and the Northern Rockies, holds about 2,206,920 hectares of Agricultural Land Reserve. The Commission doesn’t publish a figure for the regional district alone; its ALR maps show the reserve lands around Prince George.
Source: Provincial Agricultural Land Commission, Annual Report 2024–2025, as of March 31, 2025. Report a data problem
Resource map
Mines from BC Mine Information, mills from the provincial Mill List Survey, dams from the BC dam registry, parks and places from the Canadian Geographical Names Database.
Tap a marker for details. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. The hollow marker is downtown Prince George.
Sources
- BC Ministry of Forests, Prince George TSA
- AAC Rationale for Prince George TSA, October 2017
- BC Government News, new cut level for the Prince George TSA
- BC Harvest Billing System, Mark Monthly Scaling History
- BC Major Timber Processing Facilities (Mill List Survey)
- Canfor, Northwood Pulp Mill closure (July 14, 2026)
- BC Mine Information
- BC Geological Survey, MINFILE
- BC dam registry (DataBC)
- BC Hydro, Peace Region facilities
- Tidewater Midstream, Prince George Refinery
- Canada Energy Regulator, Westcoast pipeline profile
- Enbridge, Sunrise Expansion Program
- Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture
- Agricultural Land Commission, Annual Report 2024–2025
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Fraser River
- Canada–BC Water Quality Monitoring Agreement, Nechako River (2005)
- Ecofish Research, Hydrology of the Nechako watershed (2022)
- Water Survey of Canada station metadata
- BC GWELLS, aquifer 92
- City of Prince George, 2024 Annual Water System Report
- Canadian Geographical Names Database
- NRCan Canadian Digital Elevation Model
- ECCC climate station list
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile
- BC Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification map
- BC Parks, Ecological Reserves and Protected Areas
How these figures are gathered
Live figures are fetched from these providers and cached briefly on our server. Provisional real-time data can be revised by the source. When a source is down we say so rather than guess.
- BC Ministry of Forests, Prince George TSA
- Current AAC, TSA area and districts
- AAC Rationale for Prince George TSA, October 2017
- AAC history, species, mountain pine beetle
- BC Harvest Billing System, Mark Monthly Scaling History
- Monthly scaled volume, TSA 24, January 2012 to Aug 2026
- BC Major Timber Processing Facilities (Mill List Survey)
- Mill locations and estimated capacity
- BC Mine Information
- Mine status, permittees and locations
- BC Geological Survey, MINFILE
- Producing quarries near the city
- BC dam registry (DataBC)
- Dam heights, crest lengths and locations
- Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture
- Tables 32-10-0249, 32-10-0231, 32-10-0406, 32-10-0403
- Canada–BC Water Quality Monitoring Agreement, Nechako River (2005)
- Nechako drainage area at Prince George
- Water Survey of Canada station metadata
- Gauged drainage areas
- Canadian Geographical Names Database
- Coordinates for the city, places and parks
- NRCan Canadian Digital Elevation Model
- Downtown elevation
- ECCC climate station list
- Airport elevation
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile
- City land area
