Chase River, known in the

Hulquminum Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

language as ''Kulwulton'', is a river on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, discharging into the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

at the south end of

Nanaimo Harbour Nanaimo Harbour, also known as the ''Port of Nanaimo'', is a natural harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The City of Nanaimo runs along the west side of the harbour. Three islands, Newcastle, Protection, ...

. It is the namesake of the city of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

's neighbourhood of

Chase River Chase River, known in the Hulquminum language as ''Kulwulton'', 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 ...

River's course

The

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

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 The Nanaimo River is a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located near the city of Nanaimo on the island's east coast. Its headwaters are in the Vancouver Island Ranges of central Vancouver Island and its mouth, the Nanaimo ...

estuary.

History

In the winter of 1852–53, a Scottish

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

, Peter Brown, was killed by two

natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, one from Cowichan the other from

Snuneymuxw The Snuneymuxw First Nation (pronounced ) is located in and around the city of Nanaimo on east-central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The nation previously had also occupied territory along the Fraser River, in British Columbia. ...

. 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 Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef'' ...

the same day at Execution Point on

Douglas Island Douglas Island is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the city and borough of Juneau, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel, and contains t ...

. Execution Point got its name from those hangings. It was renamed in 1960 to Gallows Point and Douglas Island was renamed Protection Island.

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 Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

washing. As a secondary use, homes near the water pipeline were allowed to use the

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

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 A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

Chase River Fault

The Chase River Fault, a strike-slip tectonic

fault line In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

bisects the park, along the path of the Chase River and the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s that make up the Colliery Dam. Evidence of the fault in the form of striking

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure ...

crevasses and chasms can be seen in several locations within and around the park. One such chasm known to locals simply as ''The Abyss'', located 1 kilometre from Upper Colliery Dam, has become a popular destination for tourists, hikers, and

geologists A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

References

External links