Chase River

Chase River
Location of river mouth
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Physical characteristics
Source	Mount Benson
Mouth
• location	Nanaimo Harbour
• coordinates	49°08′10″N 123°55′09″W / 49.13611°N 123.91917°W / 49.13611; -123.91917Coordinates: 49°08′10″N 123°55′09″W / 49.13611°N 123.91917°W / 49.13611; -123.91917
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)

Chase River, known in the Hulquminum language as Kulwulton,^[1] is a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, discharging into the Strait of Georgia at the south end of Nanaimo Harbour. It is the namesake of the city of Nanaimo's neighbourhood of Chase River.

River's course[]

The source of Chase River is on the south-west side of Mount Benson. From there it travels in an eastwardly direction towards Nanaimo, where it goes through Colliery Dam Park and the neighbourhoods of Harewood and Chase River before emptying into Nanaimo Harbour in the Nanaimo River estuary.^[2]

Colliery Dam Park[]

In 1910-1911, a series of dams were built by the along the river by the Western Fuel Company to supply water to the miners for coal washing. As a secondary use, homes near the water pipeline were allowed to use the water for domestic purposes. Eventually, most of the water for South Harewood received its water from this source. The city of Nanaimo turned this area into a park with swimming, walking trails, and picnicking.^[3]

History[]

In the winter of 1852–53, a Scottish shepherd, Peter Brown, was killed by two natives, one from Cowichan the other from Snuneymuxw. The Snuneymuxw man, hearing that the governor and troops would be hunting him, fled. He was easily tracked and captured because of the fresh-falling snow making his tracks easy to find and follow. The "chase" ended at this river.

They were tried on the ship SS Beaver on 17 January 1853 and hung the same day at Execution Point^[4] on Douglas Island.^[5] Execution Point got its name from those hangings. It was renamed in 1960 to Gallows Point^[6] and Douglas Island was renamed Protection Island.

See Also[]

• Nanaimo River
• List of rivers of British Columbia
• List of coal mines and landmarks in the Nanaimo area

References[]

External links[]

•  Canada portal