Waddington Harbour

Last updated

Waddington Harbour is a harbour at the head of Bute Inlet in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. [1] Also issuing into the head of Bute Inlet and Waddington Harbour, just east of the mouth of the Homathko, is the Teaquahan River. [2] Issuing directly into the inlet a few miles south on the harbour's southeast is the Southgate River, [3] one of the major rivers of the central Pacific Ranges, which begins on the west side of the Lillooet Icecap. Its lower valley adjacent to the inlet's shores is called Pigeon Valley. [4]

Contents

Geography

Located immediately at the outlet of the Homathko River is Homathko Estuary Provincial Park, [5] and Potato Point at 50°55′38″N124°51′26″W / 50.92722°N 124.85722°W / 50.92722; -124.85722 (Potato Point) [6] on the right (west) bank of the Homathko's mouth, which is the location of Potato Point Indian Reserve No. 3 [7] and Hamilton Point slightly south along the Bute Inlet shoreline at 50°54′07″N124°51′14″W / 50.90194°N 124.85389°W / 50.90194; -124.85389 (Hamilton Point) . [8] Cumsack Creek flows from the east into the estuary just above the Homathko's mouth at 50°56′12″N124°51′46″W / 50.93667°N 124.86278°W / 50.93667; -124.86278 (Cumsack Creek) . [9]

Mountains overlooking the harbour

Standing on the north side of Pigeon Valley and the lower Southgate, is Southgate Peak at 50°55′04″N124°45′07″W / 50.91778°N 124.75194°W / 50.91778; -124.75194 (Southgate Peak) , [10] and immediately east of it Mount Bute at 50°56′06″N124°42′04″W / 50.93500°N 124.70111°W / 50.93500; -124.70111 (Mount Bute) . [11]

On the ridge just north of it is Galleon Peak at 50°57′31″N124°42′23″W / 50.95861°N 124.70639°W / 50.95861; -124.70639 (Galleon Peak) . [12] Immediately north of the head of the inlet and the mouths of the Homathko and Teaquahan is Teaquahan Mountain at 51°01′55″N124°49′28″W / 51.03194°N 124.82444°W / 51.03194; -124.82444 (Teaquahan Mountain) , [13] a southwestern forepeak of which is Mount Evans at 50°59′43″N124°51′04″W / 50.99528°N 124.85111°W / 50.99528; -124.85111 (Mount Evans) . [14]

Located on the west side of Waddington Harbour above Potato Point is House Mountain at 50°53′45″N124°56′47″W / 50.89583°N 124.94639°W / 50.89583; -124.94639 (House Mountain) . [15]

South of Waddington Harbour is Mount Sir Francis Drake at 50°47′29″N124°47′09″W / 50.79139°N 124.78583°W / 50.79139; -124.78583 (Mount Sir Francis Drake) . [16]

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

History and name origin

The harbour and the route it accessed into the British Columbia Interior via the canyon of the Homathko were central to the events leading to the Chilcotin War of 1862 and in the proceedings of that conflict as it unfolded. It was originally foreseen as a potential steamship port for a proposed route to the Cariboo goldfields. It wound up being a staging point for troops and officials from Victoria sent up in the course of the war. In later years, the Canadian Pacific Railway Survey eyed it as a viable route for a transcontinental rail line that would end at Victoria (rather than Vancouver, which was their final choice).

The harbour was named for Alfred Waddington, who was one of the most prominent businessmen in colonial-era Victoria. He had left England for California in 1849, and arrived in Victoria with thousands of others who left the San Francisco and the California goldfields upon news of the Fraser Gold Rush that gave birth to the Colony of British Columbia that year.

When the Cariboo Gold Rush was in full swing, there was demand for an easier route for shipping and passenger travel to the remote goldfields towns around Barkerville, by then the largest town in the Interior. Waddington applied for a license to construct a wagon road from the head of Bute Inlet to Fort Alexandria on the Fraser and the existing roads from there to the goldfields and southwards. He first conceived of the idea in 1862 and struggled financially with the project until 1864, when work crews began work on the road and came into conflict with Tsilhqot'in warriors whom they had hired to help. The Tsilhqot'in were hungry and the survivors of the devastating 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic, which had destroyed the indigenous population of British Columbia in vast numbers. The Tshilqot'in had been among the hardest hit, with an estimated 90% wiped out in a few short weeks. When the warriors realized what they were building, they protested to the work camp boss, who threatened them with smallpox.

That night, April 30, 1864, the Tsilhqot'in killed fourteen out of the seventeen men in the work crew, and destroyed their tools and provisions. When the survivors reached Victoria and the Cariboo, thus began a months-long manhunt including troops brought by warship to Waddington Harbour, or Port Waddington as a townsite laid out during the war was known, who met with irregular enlistments inland on the Chilcotin Plateau. Among those disembarking and embarking at the harbour was Governor Seymour, who travelled to the theatre of war with his entourage, though to no great effect. The war ended with the surrender of Klatassine, who turned himself in on conditions of amnesty, but was taken captive and with four others was hanged at Quesnel on June 13, 1864.

Waddington was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island, and also superintendent of schools from 1865 to 1866. He travelled to London in 1868 to lobby for more support for proposal of a railway and for the development of British Columbia, returning to BC in 1869, and sold his plans and surveys and license rights on the route to the new Province of British Columbia in 1871. Waddington's dream of a route was never given up, and he died of smallpox in Victoria on February 27, 1872, at 76 years age, still lobbying in his last years for the Bute Inlet route to Vancouver Island for the railway promised to British Columbia upon its entry to Confederation in 1871. [17] [18]

Waddington Bay in the Broughton Archipelago was also named for him, [19] as is Mount Waddington, [20] the highest mountain entirely within British Columbia, and the Waddington Range surrounding it [21] and a glacier [22] from its summit, and another mountain in the Yellowhead Pass, which was his choice for the route of the railway through the Rockies, Waddington Peak. [23] One of the canyons of the Homathko is also named for him, [24] and Waddington Channel between East and West Redonda Islands. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Waddington</span> Mountain in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although it is lower than Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the United States border between Alaska and British Columbia, Mount Waddington is the highest peak that lies entirely within British Columbia. It and the subrange which surround it, known as the Waddington Range, stand at the heart of the Pacific Ranges, a remote and extremely rugged set of mountains and river valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waddington Range</span> Subrange of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada

The Waddington Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is only about 4,000 km2 in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the Pacific Ranges and of the Coast Mountains, being crowned by its namesake Mount Waddington 4,019 m (13,186 ft). The Waddington Range is also extremely rugged and more a complex of peaks than a single icefield, in contrast to the other huge icefield-massifs of the southern Coast Mountains, which are not so peak-studded and tend to have more contiguous icemasses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niut Range</span>

The Niut Range is 3600 km2 in area. It is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, although in some classifications it is considered part of the Chilcotin Ranges. The Niut is located in the angle of the Homathko River and its main west fork, Mosley Creek. It is isolated, island-like, by those rivers from its neighbour ranges, as both streams have their source on the Chilcotin Plateau in behind the range. Razorback Mountain is its highest peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Tiedemann</span>

Mount Tiedemann 3838m, prominence 848m, is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges subdivision of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) northeast of Mount Waddington in the Waddington Range massif between the Homathko and Klinaklini Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homathko River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the Pacific Ocean. The Homathko River reaches the sea at the head of Bute Inlet, just west of the mouth of the Southgate River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bute Inlet</span> Fjord in British Columbia, Canada

Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km (50 mi) long from the estuaries of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers at the head of the inlet, to the mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km (2.5 mi) in width. Bute Inlet is in a spectacular wilderness setting and is one of the most scenic waterways in the world. In the upper reaches of the inlet mountains rise 2,700 m (9,000 ft) feet above sea level. Bute Inlet is a spectacular wilderness that is visited by very few people. In more recent years tourists are travelling from around the world to view grizzly bears in a natural setting and explore the wilderness of Bute Inlet.

Bishop River Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, located southwest of and adjoining Ts'yl-os Provincial Park."Bishop River Park". BC Geographical Names. It lies along the upper course of the Bishop River, the main tributary of the Southgate River, from the Bishop's source at the western side of the Lillooet Icecap to midway along its course above its confluence with the Southgate. The park is 19,947 ha. in size. There are no roads or trails in the park although a forest service road from Waddington Harbour at the head of Bute Inlet leads up the Southgate to within a few miles of the park boundary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilcotin War</span> Revolt in British Columbia in 1864

The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Waddington in the building of a road from Bute Inlet were killed, as well as a number of men with a pack-train near Anahim Lake and a settler at Puntzi Lake.

The Lillooet Icecap, also called the Lillooet Icefield or the Lillooet Crown, is a large icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the towns of Pemberton and Whistler, and about 175 km (109 mi) north of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lillooet Icecap is one of the largest of several large icefields in the Pacific Ranges which are the largest temperate-latitude glacial fields in the world. At its maximum extent including its glacial tongues it measures 30 km (19 mi) east to west and 20 km (12 mi) north to south; its central icefield area is approximately 15 km (9 mi) in diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Waddington</span> Canadian politician

Alfred Penderell Waddington, during his later years, was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homathko Icefield</span> Icefield in British Columbia, Canada

The Homathko Icefield is an icefield in British Columbia, Canada. Officially named the Homathko Snowfield from 1950 until the current name was adopted in 1976, it is one of the largest icefields in the southern half of the Coast Mountains, with an area of over 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi). It is located between Chilko Lake and the Homathko River, and lies across the Great Canyon of that river to the east of the Waddington Range. Although adjacent to Mount Queen Bess, the Homathko Icefield is largely an expanse of ice, about 30 km (19 mi) across, ringed by relatively minor peaks and distinguished, relative to the other Coast Mountains icefields, by lack of any major ones. The Lillooet Icecap and the Compton Névé, both similar in size to the Homathko Icefield but much more peak-studded, lie to the Homathko Icefield's southeast across the Southgate River which bends around the icefield-massif's southern flank to reach the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Homathko River. The icefield is essentially one large ice-girt montane plateau between these two rivers.

Waddington Canyon is a canyon on the Homathko River in the heart of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, located below the confluence of Mosley Creek.

Great Canyon is the official name of a stretch of the Homathko River as it pierces the heart of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains between the Chilcotin District of the British Columbia Interior and the Central Coast region at Bute Inlet. Also known unofficially as the Grand Canyon of the Homathko, it is located above the confluence of Mosley Creek. The canyon is the largest on the Homathko and lies on the west side of the Waddington Range massif containing Mount Waddington, the range's highest, and like other parts of the Homathko has been proposed as the site of dams in a region-wide hydroelectric development involving the Homathko, Southgate, Chilko and Taseko Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southgate River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Southgate River is a river in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, entering the head of Bute Inlet, on that province's South Coast, just east of the mouth of the Homathko River at Waddington Harbour. The lower reaches of the river's course are flat-bottomed and are named Pigeon Valley.

Bonwick Island is an island in the Broughton Archipelago in Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The archipelago is on the northeast side of Queen Charlotte Strait and lies northwest of the village of Alert Bay and immediately to the west of Gilford Island, separated from it by Retreat Pass. Arrow Passage is to its northwest, separating it from Mars Island.

The Teaquahan River, formerly Teaquahan Creek, is a river in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, flowing into the head of Bute Inlet at Waddington Harbour, immediately east of the mouth of the Homathko River.

Mount Sir Francis Drake, 2,705 metres (8,875 ft), is a mountain in the Pacific Ranges of British Columbia, Canada, standing above the south side of Waddington Harbour and the head of Bute Inlet on the Central Coast of British Columbia just south of the mouth of the Homathko River as it empties into that harbour and inlet.

The Bishop River is a river in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, flowing west from the western edge of the Lillooet Icecap to join the Southgate River east of the Homathko Icefield. Bishop River Provincial Park surrounds the upper course of the river, from the source at the Lillooet Icecap to midway along its course above its confluence with the Southgate.

Mosely Creek is a large creek in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, flowing southwest to join the Homathko River in its canyon downstream from Tatlayoko Lake, and a short distance above Murderers Bar at 51°16′00″N124°54′00″W, which is the site of the opening events of the Chilcotin War of 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bute</span>

Mount Bute, also known as Bute Mountain, is a 2,810-metre (9,220-foot) mountain located in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Situated at the southern extreme of the Homathko Icefield, Mount Bute has an impressive 800-metre sheer granite west face, and Bute Glacier dominates the north aspect. This imposing mountain is visible from Waddington Harbour at the head of Bute Inlet, in a remote wilderness area that few visit. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Grenville, 13.0 km (8.1 mi) to the east-northeast. Mount Grenville is the highest summit of the icefield. Mount Bute is 63.0 km (39.1 mi) southeast of Mount Waddington, the highest peak of the entire Coast Mountains range.

References

50°54′31″N124°49′33″W / 50.90861°N 124.82583°W / 50.90861; -124.82583 (Waddington Harbour)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.