45800 Promontory Rd |
British Columbia Tourism Region : Vancouver, Coast, & Mountains
Description From Owner:
- Sumas - From a Halkomelem word meaning 'big flat opening.' Sumas Lake, once extensive, shallow, and infested with mosquitoes, has been drained for many years, providing lush agricultural land.
- The earliest mention of Sumas Mountain is to be found in Simon Fraser's account of the country he passed through on 30 June 1808: 'Continued our course with a strong current for nine miles [down the Fraser] where the river expands into a lake.
- Here we saw seals, a large river [the Chilliwack River?] coming in on the left, and a round Mountain a head [sic], which the natives call shemotch.' In the mid-nineteenth century, Sumas was often spelled Smess.
- The Halkomelem name for Sumas Mountain means 'gap left when a large chunk broke away,' or 'divided head,' because of the mountain's seemingly separate parts.
- With permission from G.P.V and Helen B. Akrigg 1997 British Columbia Place Names. UBC Press.
Address of this page: http://bc.ruralroutes.com/SumasBC