Author Archives: Swany

Arctic Pacific Lakes Park

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British Columbia. Provincial Park
Fraser River and Peace River drainages
Surrounding Bad River (James Creek), between Parsnip River and McGregor River
54.3844 N 121.5556 W — Map 93I/5 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 2000
Official in BC – Canada


Arctic Pacific Lakes Park

In 1793 Alexander Mackenzie [1764–1820] crossed the Continental Divide through what is now this park, on his way to the Pacific OceN. Simon Fraser [1776–1862] followed the same route in 1805.

Arctic Lake drains north into the Parsnip River, and through the Peace River and the Mackenzie River reaches the Arctic Ocean.

Pacific Lake (and Portage Lake) are at the headwaters of Bad River (James Creek), which drains into Herrick Creek, thence McGregor River, which empties into the Fraser River on to the Pacific Ocean.

The park also encloses Little Lake on Bad River.

The lakes are a beautiful turquoise colour, and situated in a very scenic area, with alpine peaks and ridges as a distant backdrop. Situated in an area of limestone bedrock, some watercourses drain underground. Valley bottoms alongside the lakes support wet meadows and mixed forest. Valley sides include extensive avalanche chutes and small, picturesque waterfalls.

The park, established in 2000, protects high value fall and spring grizzly habitat, and year-round caribou habitat. Lakes and streams support diverse fish populations, and provide excellent opportunities for fishing. Diverse fish populations including lake trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, kokanee, dolly varden, mountain whitefish, redside shiner, lake char, and chinook salmon, and arctic grayling in Arctic Lake.

There appears to be a resource road leading to the Parsnip side of the pass, starting at Bear Lake on the Hart Highway.

References:

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Jarvis Pass

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Alberta-BC boundary. Pass
Fraser River and Mackenzie River drainages
Between Jarvis Creek and Hanington Creek
54.0906 N 120.1583 W — Map 93I/1 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1915
Name officially adopted in 1982
Official in BC – Canada
This pass appears on:
Samuel Prescott Fay map Mount Alexander 1915
Boundary Commission Sheet 39 (surveyed in 1924)
E. W. Jarvis — Christmas, 1872

E. W. Jarvis — Christmas, 1872

The name was adopted by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1917 in recognition of surveyor Edward Worrell Jarvis [1846–1894].

“E.W. Jarvis, CE, and Major C. F. Hanington of Ottawa made an adventurous winter journey across the Rockies in 1875. The pass through which they crossed the mountains was named Jarvis Pass by the Geographic Board of Canada and the name Jarvis is also borne by a mountain on the south side of the pass opposite Mount Hanington. The exploration was undertaken to see if this route across the mountains would be a practicable one for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The elevation of the pass, about 5,000 feet, proved too high. The starting point of the journey was Quesnel, which was left on December 9, 1874, and a 1,000-mile journey, mostly on foot, occupying five and a half months, was concluded at Winnipeg on May 21, 1875.” (extract from Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, June 1927)

References:

  • Hanington, Charles Francis [1848–1930]. Journal of Mr. C.F. Hanington from Quesnelle through the Rocky Mountains, during the winter of 1874-5. 1875. Internet Archive
  • McBride, Sam. “Edward Worrell Jarvis in Western Canada.” Manitoba History, Number 78 (Summer 2015). Manitoba Historical Society
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Jarvis Pass
Also see:

Mount Jarvis

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Alberta-BC boundary. Mount: Fraser River drainage
N of Kakwa Lake near BC-Alberta boundary
54.0736 N 120.1669 W — Map 93I/1 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1877 (CPR Report)
Name officially adopted in 1917
Official in BC – Canada

Adopted by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1917, as identified in the 1877 Canadian Pacific Railway report. Edward Worrell Jarvis [1846–1894], with his assistant Charles Francis Hanington [1848–1930], explored the region in 1875 in connection with CPR surveys.

References:

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Encampment Creek

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British Columbia. Creek: Columbia River drainage
Flows E into Columbia Reach, Kinbasket Lake
52.15 N 118.5167 W — Map 83D/2 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1939
Official in BC – Canada

Adopted in 1939 for BC Lands’ map 5D, Revelstoke-Golden, “flowing E into Columbia River at junction with Canoe River”. Location description and coordinates of mouth subsequently adjusted after flooding behind Mica Dam.

Camp Creek labelled on BC Reference Map 42 was likely adjusted to Encampment Creek to avoid duplication and to retain a historic reference: this creek originally flowed into the apex of the great bend [Big Bend] of the Columbia River at approximately 52°8′ N 118°27’15” W opposite Boat Encampment, the place where David Thompson [1770–1857] wintered in 1811. Following flooding of these valleys behind Mica Dam, this creek now flows into Kinbasket Lake.

References:

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Canoe Encampment

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British Columbia. Locality: Columbia River drainage
Confluence of Canoe River and Columbia River
52° 7′ 0″ N 118° 26′ 0″ W — Map 83D01 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1811 (David Thompson).
Not currently an official name.

The name for the now-submerged Boat Encampment on Arrowsmith’s 1859 map.

References:

  • Arrowsmith, John [1790–1873]. Provinces of British Columbia and Vancouver Island; with portions of the United States and Hudson’s Bay Territories. 1859. UVic
Also see:

Milton and Cheadle

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Our party across the mountains. Milton and Cheadle

Our party across the mountains. Milton and Cheadle
The North-West Passage by Land. [accessed 2 November 2021]


George A. Walkem [left], Dr. Walter Cheadle [seated], Viscount Milton [right, with hat in left hand], photographed in San Francisco, 1863

George A. Walkem [left], Dr. Walter Cheadle [seated], Viscount Milton [right, with hat in left hand], photographed in San Francisco, 1863
British Columbia Archives

Milton and Cheadle

William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Milton [1839–1877] was a British nobleman, explorer, and Liberal Party politician. Walter Butler Cheadle [1835–1910] was an English paediatrician. They travelled across Canada in 1862-1863. Departing from Quebec City in July, they wintered near Fort Carlton in present-day Saskatchewan. In 1863 they became the first “tourists” to travel through the Yellowhead Pass. After a challenging and at times humorous summer, they reached Victoria, British Columbia.

They chronicled their trip in The North-West Passage by Land. Being the narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific, undertaken with the view of exploring a route across the continent to British Columbia through British territory, by one of the northern passes in the Rocky Mountains (1865).

Works pertinent to the Mount Robson region of which Milton and Cheadle were authors or co-authors:

  • Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910], and —   Cheadle’s Journal of Trip Across Canada 1862-63. Ottawa: Graphic Publishers, 1931. University of British Columbia Library
  • — and Milton, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam [1839–1877]; Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910]. The North-West Passage by Land. Being the narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific, undertaken with the view of exploring a route across the continent to British Columbia through British territory, by one of the northern passes in the Rocky Mountains. London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1865. Internet Archive [accessed 3/10/2025]
  • — and Milton, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam [1839–1877]; Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910]. Voyage de l’Atlantique au Pacifique, à travers le Canada, les montagnes Rocheuses et la Colombie anglaise. Paris: Hachette, 1872
Milton and Cheadle are credited with naming the following places:

Events in the Mount Robson region in which Milton and Cheadle was involved:

  • 1863 Milton and Cheadle through YHP
References:

  • Zillmer, Raymond T. [1887–1960]. “The location of Mt. Milton and the restoration of the names ‘Mt. Milton and Mt. Cheadle’.” American Alpine Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1943). American Alpine Club

Lac l’Orignal

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British Columbia. : Fraser River drainage
Former name for Moose Lake
Detail of Tête Jaune Cache area, John Arrowsmith map,1859

Detail of Tête Jaune Cache area, John Arrowsmith map,1859
Colonial Dispatches, Uvic

“Orignal” is Canadian French for “moose,” derived from Basque oreina “deer” via orignac, the form that the Basque word took on in the Basque-Mi’kmaq pidgin used by the Mi’kmaq and visiting Basque fishermen and whalers.

On Arrowsmith’s 1859 map, Moose Lake appears as “Lac L’Original [sic],” and the two sections of Yellowhead Lake are called Moose Lake and Cow dung Lake.

References:

  • Arrowsmith, John [1790–1873]. Provinces of British Columbia and Vancouver Island; with portions of the United States and Hudson’s Bay Territories. 1859. UVic
Also see:

Kettle Lakes

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British Columbia. Lakes: Fraser River drainage
W of Yellowhead Lake
52.85 N 118.5833 W — Map 83D/15 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1985
Official in BC – Canada
Kettle Lakes

Kettle Lakes
Natural Resources Canada

A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of ice left behind by retreating glaciers, which become surrounded by sediment deposited by meltwater streams as there is increased friction. The ice becomes buried in the sediment and when the ice melts, a depression is left called a kettle hole, creating a dimpled appearance on the outwash plain. Lakes often fill these kettles; these are called kettle hole lakes. Another source is the sudden drainage of an ice-dammed lake. When the block melts, the hole it leaves behind is a kettle. As the ice melts, ramparts can form around the edge of the kettle hole. The lakes that fill these holes are seldom more than 10 m deep and eventually become filled with sediment.
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