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British Columbia Tourism Region : Thompson Okanagan
Description From Owner:
- The Reverend George M. Grant, describing his journey down the valley of the North Thompson in 1872, observed:
- 'Blue River gets its name from the deep soft blue of the distant hills, which are seen from its mouth well up into the gap through which it runs.'
- Mount Cheadle named after W.B. Cheadle (1835-1910), the English physician who travelled this way in 1863 with Viscount Milton during their overland journey to the Pacific.
- Like many other travellers through British Columbia, they found little or no game down in the river valleys in summer and almost died from hunger before they reached the HBC fort at Kamloops.
- Hamber Provincial Park - This provincial park (now greatly reduced from its original 3,800 square miles) was established in 1941 and named in honour of Eric Werge Hamber, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia from 1936 to 1941.
- British Columbia has been singularly fortunate in the calibre of the men who have been the sovereign's representative, and E.W. Hamber was among the best.
- Mount Hogue - After Henry and John Hogue, who trapped in this area and guided fishing and hunting parties from 1936 until the early 1950s.
- Mount Hooker - This landmark by Athabasca Pass was named in 1827 by David Douglas, of Douglas-fir fame, 'in honour of my early patron the enlightened and learned Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow.'
- This professor was Sir William Jackson Hooker (17851865), who became director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, in 1841.
- Kilpill Mountain - In 1932-3, when the provincial government paid a bounty for dead wolves, settlers knowing that wolves abounded here put out plenty of bait spiked with 'kill pills' (strychnine).
- Kinbasket Lake - This immense reservoir behind Mica Dam takes the name of a former small lake engulfed by the flooding of the Columbia River valley here. Walter Moberly has left an account of his naming of this lost lake in 1866:
- we crossed the [Columbia] river, and at a short distance came to a little camp of Shuswap Indians, where I met their headman, 'Kinbaskit.'
- I now negotiated with him for two little canoes made of the bark of the spruce, and for his assistance to take me down the river.
- Kinbaskit was a very good Indian, and I found him always reliable ... We ran many rapids and portaged others, then came to a Lake which I named 'Kinbaskit' Lake, much to the old chief's delight. (Rocks and Rivers of British Columbia, pp. 51-2)
- From 1973 to 1980, Kinbasket Lake was McNaughton Lake, being originally named after General A.G.L. McNaughton, CMG, DSO, MSc, LLD, who commanded the Canadian forces in Britain 1939-43 and then became Minister of National Defence.
- He headed the Canadian team that negotiated the Columbia River Treaty with the United States. It is nice to see the old Indian's name on the map, but General McNaughton deserves an equivalent monument.
- 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/BlueRiver
