Hunlen Falls is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

located at the mouth of Turner Lake in the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. With an estimated height of , it is tied with

Takakkaw Falls Takakkaw Falls (; also spelled Takkakaw) is a waterfall located in Yoho National Park, near Field, British Columbia in Canada. The falls have a total height of , making them the second tallest waterfall in Canada. The main drop of the waterfall h ...

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered ...

for having the fourth tallest single drop of any waterfall in Canada.

Name origin

The falls were named in 1947 after a Chilcotin Chief named Hana-lin, who used to fish below the falls in the autumn with a fish trap, and trap game nearby. In the 1930s it was sometimes called Mystery Falls and before that occasionally called Bella Coola Falls.

Structure

Hunlen Falls drops at a 90 degree pitch from the north end of

Turner Lake Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

via Hunlen Creek into the

Atnarko River The Atnarko River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Course The Atnarko River flows originates at Charlotte Lake. It flows generally west for approximately , joining the Telchako River to form the Bella Coola River. For muc ...

, a tributary of the

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community t ...

. Erosion of the canyon below Hunlen Falls has created an

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

into the Atnarko Valley.

Access

There is no road to Hunlen Falls. The easiest access is by float plane from Nimpo Lake, about a 20-minute flight. Planes land on Turner Lake above Hunlen Falls and the walk on a good trail takes about 30 minutes to the unfenced viewpoint on the east rim of the canyon. There is a hiking trail to Hunlen Falls, starting from Highway #20 at the foot of the Bella Coola Hill. Starting from Highway #20 the Tote Rd offers 4x4 access to the trailhead. The trail is approximately long. The trail to Turner Lake is cleared and maintained by BC Parks and volunteers.

Nearby area

Lonesome Lake is about to the east of Turner Lake, running parallel to it. It is an S-shaped lake nearly in length and visible from the cliffs at Hunlen Falls. The south end of Lonesome Lake was the site of the pioneer homestead of

Ralph Edwards Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 86-87. – November 16, 2005) was an American radio ...

, known as "The Birches", which was occupied from 1912 into the 1970s. His life was made famous by the book ''Crusoe of Lonesome Lake''. In July 2004 lightning struck the ridge between Turner and Lonesome Lake, igniting what has become known as the

Atnarko fire Atnarko is a locality on the Atnarko River, at the south end of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the Bella Coola Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. The original name of the post office located here was Anaham, a name associated with the Tsi ...

which burned into August.The Lonesome Lake Fire
, CHRIS' NUK TESSLI NEWSLETTER. July - August, 2004. It burned the southern side of Turner Lake up to the falls, as well as destroying a number of residences including the Edwards and Turner homesteads.

References

External links

{{Commonscat
Photos of Hunlen FallsHunlen Falls/Turner Lake Trail Map, BC ParksHunlen Falls/Turner Lake Trail Brochure, BC Parks
Waterfalls of British Columbia Landforms of the Chilcotin Pacific Ranges Range 3 Coast Land District