Whatshan River

The Whatshan River is a tributary of the Columbia River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The river's drainage basin is approximately 390 square kilometres (150 sq mi) in area.[1]

Course

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The Whatshan River[2] flows generally south, passing through Whatshan Lake[3] before joining the Columbia River in Lower Arrow Lake near the Needles Ferry.

Name origin

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In 1865, explorer James Turnbull noted in his diary that his party was camping at the mouth of the What-shaan River. Walter Moberly's 1866 map labelled the lake and river as Waatshaan. In 1884, Gilbert Malcolm Sproat referred to the Whatch-shan stream. The present spelling first appears in George Dawson's 1889 report. The actual indigenous term these explorers were attempting to transcribe, and consequently its meaning, is unclear. A lake, river, peak, and mountain range have received the name.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Whatshan Project Water Use Plan" (PDF). BC Hydro. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-16.
  2. ^ "Whatshan River". BC Geographical Names.
  3. ^ "Whatshan Lake". BC Geographical Names.
  4. ^ "Castlegar News, 21 Dec 2017". www.castlegarnews.com. 21 December 2017.

49°52′N 118°7′W / 49.867°N 118.117°W / 49.867; -118.117