Barrière River adopted 11 August 1921 for Pub # 1945 (Geological Survey of Canada Summary Report 1921, Pt. A, p.72) as labelled on Geological Survey map of Southern Interior of British Columbia, 1877 et seq. Barrière River confirmed 3 March 1955 on 92P.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

The various ...Barrière... features are presented without the grave accent on BC Lands' map 3J, 1914 et seq, and in the 1930 & 1953 BC Gazetteers.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named by French Canadian fur traders because it was difficult to cross. "The [Barrière River] as its name imports, is sometimes crossed with difficulty in the spring." (G.M. Dawson, Geological Survey of Canada Summary Report, 1877-78). Labelled "Barriere (Saskum) River" on Forestry map R.35 (date not cited).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

or.... was it so named because the Indians had a fish-trap across it ?

Source: Provincial Archives of BC "Place Names File" compiled 1945-1950 by A.G. Harvey from various sources, with subsequent additions

"The mouth of the river was so-named by 1828, when Archibald McDonald achieved our first map. Rocks at that site were an impediment to navigation, and French was the fur traders' language."

Source: Place Names of the Kamloops District; Kamloops Museum, 1978

Headwaters at 51 31 - 119 42 on 82M/12.

Source: Canadian Geographical Names Database, Ottawa