Mitchell River and Cariboo Mountains in the morning mist, with fall colors, Cariboo-Chilcotin region, British Columbia

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The Cariboo-Chilcotin region stretches from the Pacific Coast to the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel Lake. It is a sparsely settled area with rugged terrain and vast wilderness areas of north temperate rain forest. A major sockeye salmon run migrates through this area, ending up in rivers such as the Mitchell River at the north arm of Quensel Lake. The dead and dying salmon feed a rich ecosystem, including a community of bears, wolves, eagles and other wildlife, who drag their bodies into the forest to add nutrients to the plants that grow there. Plant species that efficiently take up nutrients from the decomposing bodies of salmon flourish, and attract more song birds to the dense growths of wild berry bushes and the increased numbers of insects near the salmon rivers. In this image the snow-covered Cariboo Mountains rise above the Mitchell River and the fall colours of the trees and bushes lining the river.

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Size: 2400px × 3600px
Location: Mitchell River off Quesnel Lake, Cariboo-Chilcotin region, British Columbia, Canada
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: banks, british, canada, cariboo, cariboo-chilcotin, colors, columbia, fall, lake, mists, mitchell, morning, mountains, quesnel, region, river, snow, snow-covered