Ashcroft, BC. Canada's True Desert Town

Metro-One · #1 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 6:33 AM**

So this August I was in the desert town of Aschcroft, BC, in the Thompson Valley. It's about a three to four hour drive east of Vancouver.

It was 39 degrees (102F) while taking these pics, so I had to take regular breaks in the shade and drink lots of water! The next day was 41 (106F)!

It has the wide streets that all the towns I was working at in Nevada had.

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Lots of cute shops and cafes in the town core.

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Very very dry

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Always somewhere to get sushi in BC!

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Big Truck by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Living by Ian, on Flickr

The Band must play on!

Ashcroft The Band! by Ian, on Flickr

The Thompson River

Ashcroft Bridge by Ian, on Flickr

The life lines of the town, the railroads.

Ashcroft Railroad by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Train 1 by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Train 2 by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Train 3 by Ian, on Flickr

Ashcroft Train Station by Ian, on Flickr

And the perfect desert motel!

Ashcroft Desert Motel by Ian, on Flickr

Just out of town, here is some of the desert landscape:

Thompson Valley Desert by Ian, on Flickr

Thompson Valley Cactus by Ian, on Flickr

Thompson Valley Evening Cactus by Ian, on Flickr

Thompson Golden Grass by Ian, on Flickr

Thompson Sage by Ian, on Flickr

The Painted Bluffs on the shore of the Thompson Lake.

Painted Bluffs, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Painted Bluffs, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

I love Ashcroft and it's setting and built form, which is such a unique flair in Canada.

geomorph · #2 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 7:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Ashcroft, BC, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

I wonder how big each graduating class was!

Doady · #3 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 4:36 PM**

Very colourful place. You show how mucn the buildings and vehicles contrast with the surrounding landscape.

destroycreate · #4 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 4:46 PM**

Cool photos! Very strange place, no?

Not going to lie, I think Nevada may be the ugliest and most depressing state west of the Mississippi.

mhays · #5 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 4:49 PM**

Oh Canada. The graduation markers are probably the same size so one class doesn't upstage the others.

sopas ej · #6 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 5:22 PM**

Very interesting photos!

sopas ej · #7 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 5:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Cool photos! Very strange place, no?

Not going to lie, I think Nevada may be the ugliest and most depressing state west of the Mississippi.

I used to think that way too, until about 4 years ago, when my partner and I went to the Valley of Fire for the very first time. We haven't been back since, but we actually wouldn't mind visiting it again. We felt the Valley of Fire is redeeming for the State of Nevada.

You should Google it.

Metro-One · #8 Posted **Oct 2, 2023, 11:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by geomorph

I wonder how big each graduating class was!

The town population is only around 1500, so they cant be too large...

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Cool photos! Very strange place, no?

Not going to lie, I think Nevada may be the ugliest and most depressing state west of the Mississippi.

It's definitely strange in the context that it's in Canada. It's the driest location in the country south of the 60th parallel.

I don't find it depressing though, lots of history and unique character in the town, and personally love the desert landscape.

AviationGuy · #9 Posted **Oct 3, 2023, 1:05 AM**

Really interesting. Not a landscape one would expect to see in Canada. I like the pics of the town.

xzmattzx · #10 Posted **Oct 3, 2023, 5:11 AM**

Nice pictures!

I definitely get the desert feel with the townscape, but the surrounding landscape reminds me more of central Wyoming than a typical desert place like Arizona or New Mexico. It doesn't look like the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada or California, either. It may look like central Nevada, as someone alluded to.

Metro-One · #11 Posted **Oct 3, 2023, 5:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Nice pictures!

I definitely get the desert feel with the townscape, but the surrounding landscape reminds me more of central Wyoming than a typical desert place like Arizona or New Mexico. It doesn't look like the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada or California, either. It may look like central Nevada, as someone alluded to.

Central / Northern Nevada is where I was thinking. I spent three summers in the 2000s working in Battle Mountain and Winnemucca on the I-80 and the areas look strikingly similar.

destroycreate · #12 Posted **Oct 3, 2023, 4:27 PM**

I am cringing and lol'ing at myself. Why the F did I think I was viewing a thread about a small desert town in Nevada? I feel there was one here posted a while back, regardless sorry for totally getting that all mixed up.

dktshb · #13 Posted **Oct 6, 2023, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Cool photos! Very strange place, no?

Not going to lie, I think Nevada may be the ugliest and most depressing state west of the Mississippi.

Actually a lot of the State is gorgeous with its basin and range topography and hello, Lake Tahoe!!! I have a house in NV at lake tahoe and it is one of the most beautiful places I know of.

Great photos. I love desert mountain towns. Good to see Canada has a little slice of these types of environments too.

SIGSEGV · #14 Posted **Oct 24, 2023, 5:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Cool photos! Very strange place, no?

Not going to lie, I think Nevada may be the ugliest and most depressing state west of the Mississippi.

eh, hard disagree there... if you're not a fan of the desert, you just have to go to the top of one of the hundreds of mountain ranges... https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5925...6656?entry=ttu or https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9859...3072?entry=ttu or https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3437...4352?entry=ttu (these are all places I've been, no doubt there are many other beautiful places...)

As for the original topic, now I know what Ash was on that Canada weather chart somebody posted in some thread! Didn't know there was a microdesert biome in Canada...

edale · #15 Posted **Oct 25, 2023, 11:23 PM**

Fascinating. Would never have guessed this landscape existed in Canada. Maybe a stupid question, but does it get cold and snowy there in the winter? I imagine it does as it's in Canada, but my brain equates deserts with dryness and heat, so it's hard to picture this place in the winter.

SIGSEGV · #16 Posted **Oct 26, 2023, 1:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by edale

Fascinating. Would never have guessed this landscape existed in Canada. Maybe a stupid question, but does it get cold and snowy there in the winter? I imagine it does as it's in Canada, but my brain equates deserts with dryness and heat, so it's hard to picture this place in the winter.

the world's largest desert is Antarctica

Velvet_Highground · #17 Posted **Nov 12, 2023, 10:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by edale

Fascinating. Would never have guessed this landscape existed in Canada. Maybe a stupid question, but does it get cold and snowy there in the winter? I imagine it does as it's in Canada, but my brain equates deserts with dryness and heat, so it's hard to picture this place in the winter.

I love unique climatological niche areas like the dry valleys of south central BC & they’re similar looking yet inverse cousin in the basin and range province of northern Nevada. The sagebrush sea interspersed with islands in the sky of lush coniferous forests sending down small rivers into cottonwood filled canyons. The amount and diversity of microclimates in the west has always been what made it feel most special to me.

Like here in the Great Lakes there’s the saying if you don’t like the weather wait 5 & minutes it’ll change. I got that impression spending time in the eastern Searria but instead of wait 5 minutes it’s drive 5 minutes up or down in elevation or from a south facing aspect of the mountain to its north. Thompson Lake makes me think of Washoe or Walker Lakes might have been like back in the day.

It looks like a manmade lake but the dry valleys of BC being water rich due to run off from the surrounding mountains makes wonder what drier areas further south in the inter mountain west looked like 100-150 years ago.

It a treat seeing Ashcroft and environs.

Metro-One · #18 Posted **Nov 19, 2023, 4:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by edale

Fascinating. Would never have guessed this landscape existed in Canada. Maybe a stupid question, but does it get cold and snowy there in the winter? I imagine it does as it's in Canada, but my brain equates deserts with dryness and heat, so it's hard to picture this place in the winter.

Sorry for the late reply, but yeah, it gets cold in the winter. The coldest month (January) averages around a high of 0 and a low of -6 (32 / 21). Spring does come early enough though, highs average above 10 (50) from early March and by early May they are above 21 (70). July and August are downright hot. Highs above 35 (95) are common. During the heat done in 2021 an all time high of 48 (119) was recorded.