Misplaced Pages

#256743

35-611: The Homathko River Valley is one of the most difficult to navigate. The frigid waters make crossing impossible and the valley itself is lined with devil's club . It is also home to many grizzly bears . The mountains flanking the Homathko River are the highest in the Coast Mountains, and include Mount Waddington west of the river in the Waddington Range and Mount Queen Bess east of the river, adjacent to

70-738: Is a large understory shrub native to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest , but also disjunct on islands in Lake Superior . It is noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in noxious and irritating spines. It is also known as Alaskan ginseng and similar names, although it is not a true ginseng . Devil's club generally grows to 1 to 1.5 metres ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 5 ft) tall. Some stands located in rainforest gullies or moist, undisturbed areas can reach heights of 3 to 5 m (10 to 16 + 1 ⁄ 2  ft) or more. The spines are found along

105-550: Is a major producer of Chum and Pink salmon . Other fish include Coho and Chinook salmon , Rainbow and Steelhead trout , Cutthroat trout , Bull trout , and Dolly Varden trout . In 2008 nine Grizzly Bear Wildlife Habitat Areas were designated in the Homathko watershed. There have been various plans to develop the Homathko and its neighbouring rivers for hydroelectric power. The Homathko alone has immense hydroelectric potential. Full build-out as first conceived would divert

140-518: Is covered with brittle yellow spines that break off easily if the plants are handled or disturbed, and the entire plant has been described as having a "primordial" appearance. The plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed-bearing maturity; this makes them very sensitive to human impact as they do not reproduce quickly. Devil's club reproduces by forming clonal colonies by means of rhizomes . What can appear to be several different plants may actually have all been one plant originally, with

175-592: The Homathko Icefield . Also flanking the Homathko River on the west are the Niut Range , which is in the angle of the Homathko and its main west fork, Mosley Creek, and the Whitemantle Range , which is to the south of the Waddington Range massif, forming the mountainous ridge dividing Bute and Knight Inlets . The Pantheon Range lies west of Mosley Creek and the Niut Range and adjoins

210-715: The Oregon Treaty had established the boundary between British North America and the United States west of the Rocky Mountains along the 49th parallel . The mainland area of present-day British Columbia was an unorganized territory under British sovereignty until 1858. The region was under the de facto administration of the Hudson's Bay Company , and its regional chief executive, James Douglas , who also happened to be Governor of Vancouver Island. The region

245-536: The Royal Navy at Esquimalt. By the mid-1850s, the Island Colony's non-indigenous population was around 800 people; a mix of mostly British, French-Canadian, Hawaiians, but with handfuls of Iroquoians, Métis and Cree in the employ of the fur company, and a few Belgian and French Oblate priests. First Nations' populations had not recovered from smallpox epidemics in the 1770s and 1780s. Three years earlier,

280-682: The Salishan language family. Colonial influence eroded Xwe’malhkwu culture in the late 19th century. Indian Residential schools further destroyed traditional Xwe’malhkwu culture and language. The upper part of the Homathko River basin was home to the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people. Although there was occasional trade between the Tsilhqot'in and Xwe’malhkwu, generally the two peoples were antagonistic and sometimes violent. The Xwe’malhkwu and Tsilhqot'in never ceded their lands. Both are currently in

315-596: The Taseko Lakes and Chilko Lake into the Homathko system via Tatlayoko Lake . A series of dams on the Homathko and its tributaries, using the extra power of the water from the Chilcotin 's tributaries, would have generated some of the most power per project in British Columbia. The creation of Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park (the 'ʔ' represents a glottal stop ) and Big Creek Provincial Park have shelved

350-527: The Tlingit , Tsimshian , and Haida people residing in Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia . A piece of Devil's club hung over a doorway is said to ward off evil. The plant is harvested and used in a variety of ways, most commonly as an oral tea in traditional settings, but also poultices and ointments. Native Americans also dried and powdered the bark for use as a deodorant and used

385-567: The Waddington Range immediately on the north. The Homathko's drainage basin is 5,680 square kilometres (2,190 sq mi) in size. The Homathko begins at an unnamed lake in the northern part of the Niut Range . It flows northeast to the Chilcotin Plateau , skirting it briefly near Tatla Lake , then turns south to Tatlayoko Lake , which is just west of Chilko Lake , part of the Chilcotin River basin. From there

SECTION 10

#1732775848257

420-533: The 1866 merger of two British colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia . The united colony existed until its incorporation into Canadian Confederation in 1871 as the Province of British Columbia . The Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849 to bolster British claims to the whole island and the adjacent Gulf Islands , and to provide a North Pacific home port for

455-516: The British colonial secretary, Lord Granville , pushed Musgrave to accelerate negotiations with Canada towards union. It took almost two years for those negotiations, in which Canada eventually agreed to shoulder the colonies' massive debt and join the territory to a transcontinental railway , to be finalized. His efforts led to the admission of British Columbia as the sixth province of Canada on 20 July 1871. 1866 to 1869 14 members were appointed by

490-534: The Columbia Detachment disbanded in July 1863, and Moody returned to England. Douglas continued to administer the mainland colony in absentia from Victoria, but Sir Arthur Kennedy was appointed to succeed him as Governor of Vancouver Island. New Westminster would welcome its first resident governor, Frederick Seymour , in 1864. Both colonies were labouring under huge debts, largely accumulated by

525-502: The Confederation League such as Amor De Cosmos , Robert Beaven , and John Robson pushed for union primarily as a way of advancing both the economic health of the region, as well as increased democratic reform through truly representative and responsible government . In this effort, they were supported and aided by Canadian officials, especially Sir Samuel Tilley , a Father of Confederation and Minister of Customs in

560-708: The Crown Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) on 2 August 1858, and dispatching Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment , to establish British order and to transform the newly established Colony into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west" and "found a second England on the shores of the Pacific". Moody was appointed Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works and Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia . Moody and

595-660: The Homathko River flows south and west, piercing the Pacific Ranges . It is joined by numerous tributaries, including the north-flowing Nostetuko and the Stonsayako Rivers . Downriver, the Homathko is joined by Mosley Creek , which flows south from the Pantheon Range. As the river cuts through the Waddington Range it flows through Waddington Canyon . It empties into Waddington Harbour ,

630-546: The charcoal from the stalks is still used to make ceremonial and protective face paints, and among the Ditidaht and neighboring groups, it was equally significant to red ochre as a symbolic link to the spirit world. Indigenous peoples such as the Tlingit and Haida have used the plant as traditional medicine for ailments such as adult-onset diabetes , as well as rheumatoid arthritis . The plant has been used ceremonially by

665-615: The clones detaching themselves after becoming established by laying down roots. This species usually grows in moist, dense forest habitats, and is most abundant in old-growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest. It is found from southcentral Alaska south to Oregon , and eastward to western Alberta and Montana . Disjunct native populations also occur over 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) away in Lake Superior on Isle Royale and Passage Island , Michigan and Porphyry Island and Slate Island , Ontario . Traditionally,

700-515: The completion of extensive infrastructure to service the huge population influx. As gold revenues dropped, the loans secured to pay for these projects undermined the economies of the colonies, and pressure grew in London for their amalgamation. Despite a great deal of ambivalence in some quarters, on 6 August 1866, the united colony was proclaimed, with the capital and assembly in Victoria, and Seymour

735-410: The different genera are chemically diverse. An in vitro study showed that extracts of devil's club might inhibit tuberculosis . Another study suggested devil's club may reduce leukemia burden in mice engrafted with murine C1498 acute myeloid leukemia cells. Colony of British Columbia (1866%E2%80%9371) The Colony of British Columbia was a British Crown Colony that resulted from

SECTION 20

#1732775848257

770-485: The government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald . Seymour, ill and beset by protests that he was dragging in his feet in completing negotiations for the HBC's territory, was facing the end of his term, and Macdonald was pressing London to replace him with Sir Anthony Musgrave , outgoing governor of the Colony of Newfoundland . Before the appointment could be finalized, however, Seymour died. With Musgrave's appointment,

805-709: The governor and 9 were elected by the public. 1869 to 1872 13 members appointed by the Governor, 8 elected by the public. In 1869 Supreme Courts were established on the mainland ("The Supreme Court of the Mainland of British Columbia") and on Vancouver Island ("Supreme Court of Vancouver Island"), which merged in 1870 as the Supreme Court of British Columbia . In 1858 the British Government had sent over Matthew Baillie Begbie as Chief Justice for

840-550: The grand plan, as Chilko and Taseko Lakes are protected and cannot be diverted (also for salmon fishery reasons). But the dams proposed for the Homathko Canyon are still on the books and are effectively on sale by the export subsidiary of BC Hydro , Powerex . If ever built, the largest dam and powerhouse will stand at a point in Waddington Canyon that is marked on the map as "Murderer's Bar"—no less than

875-599: The head of Bute Inlet. Several Homalco (or Homalko) Indian reserves are located at the river's mouth. Bute Inlet and the lower reaches of its major rivers, such as the Homathko and Southgate, were and are home to the Xwe’malhkwu, or Homalco First Nation people. The Xwe’malhkwu are part of the K'omoks , or Comox people, and speak a dialect of the Mainland Comox language , part of the Coast Salish branch of

910-560: The licence to build the road, as well as profit from the sale of lots (and some lots were sold, but the townsite never came to anything). In 1871 the Crown Colony of British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation with certain conditions, one of which was the construction of a transcontinental railroad to link the seaboard of British Columbia with the rest of Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway began to survey

945-402: The mashed berries to clean hair. Because devil's club is related to American ginseng , some people try to market the plant as an ' adaptogen '. The plant has been harvested for this purpose and sold widely as "Alaskan ginseng". Despite some morphological similarities between the araliaceous members Panax ('true' ginseng), Eleutherococcus senticosus ("Siberian ginseng") and devil's club,

980-473: The process of treaty negotiations with British Columbia and Canada. Both claim aboriginal title to parts of the Homathko River's watershed. In 1861 Alfred Waddington of Victoria sent surveyors to the Homathko River and Bute Inlet, seeking to build Waddington's Road , to compete with the proposed Cariboo Road . Both roads were a reaction to the Cariboo Gold Rush and intended to provide access to

1015-565: The remote Cariboo region. In 1864, just below the confluence of Mosley Creek and the Homathko River, a conflict between Waddington's survey party and a group of Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) resulted in the death of fourteen members of the surveying party. This was the opening round of the Chilcotin War of 1864. The land-surveyed townsite of Port Waddington on today's maps is a relic of those times. The townsite had been surveyed as part of roadbuilder Alfred Waddington's obligations in having

1050-439: The several proposed routes. One such route crossed the Chilcotin Plateau then followed the Homathko River to Bute Inlet and continued across Sonora Island and Quadra Island (then thought to be a single island known as Valdes Island) to reach Vancouver Island via Seymour Narrows . This route would then follow the eastern coast of Vancouver Island to terminate near Victoria . After years of political wrangling Burrard Inlet

1085-446: The spot on which the Chilcotin War began. Protected areas within the Homathko River's watershed include Homathko Estuary Provincial Park and Homathko River-Tatlayoko Protected Area . This is an incomplete list of tributaries listed in upstream order. Devil%27s Club Echinopanax horridum Devil's club or Devil's walking stick ( Oplopanax horridus , Araliaceae ; syn. Echinopanax horridus , Fatsia horrida )

Homathko River - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-495: The upper and lower surfaces of veins of its leaves as well as the stems. The leaves are spirally arranged on the stems, simple, palmately lobed with 5–13 lobes, 20 to 40 centimetres (8 to 15 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) across. The flowers are produced in dense umbels 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) diameter, each flower small, with five greenish-white petals. The fruit is a small red drupe 4 to 7 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 to 1 ⁄ 4  in) diameter. The plant

1155-714: Was chosen for the railway's terminus-port city, thereby creating the City of Vancouver . The proposed Homathko River route was abandoned. In 1890 a new surveying expedition set out to explore the Homathko River route to the Chilcotin Plateau. Despite memory of the Chilcotin War and fear of the Tsilhqot'in, and although the terrain was challenging in places, the party reached Tatla Lake in the Chilcotin Country without undue incident. The Homathko River

1190-535: Was designated governor. Seymour continued as governor of the united colonies until 1869, but after the British North America Act joined the three colonies ( New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and the Province of Canada ) into the Dominion of Canada in 1867, it seemed increasingly only a matter of time before Vancouver Island and British Columbia would negotiate terms of union. Major players in

1225-613: Was informally given the name New Caledonia , after the fur-trading district which covered the central and northern interior of the mainland west of the Rockies. All this changed with the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1857–1858, when the non-aboriginal population of the mainland swelled from about 150 Hudson's Bay Company employees and their families to about 20,000 prospectors , speculators, land agents, and merchants. The British Colonial Office acted swiftly, proclaiming

#256743