Lardeau is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, and former

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historic mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendigo, ...

and steamboat landing. The settlement is on the west shore near the head of

Kootenay Lake Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed th ...

in the

West Kootenay The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

region of southeastern

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, ...

. Lardo and Lardeau were used interchangeably for decades before the latter spelling for the settlement prevailed. The earliest reference to the river used Lardo in 1885, but the pass used Lardeau in 1889. This likely reflects the distinction evident by the 1890s that Kootenay Lake settlers preferred Lardo, but those closer to

Upper Arrow Lake The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Bea ...

were more accustomed to Lardeau. Of the numerous theories, one is that early prospectors adopted Lardo to signify a rich or fat land, deriving from the vulgar meaning for a person who was a rich or fat prospect. Although the latter common usage apparently developed later, the root meaning had existed for centuries. The Lardeau spelling suggests a French influence, but the geographical word origin probably had more to do with lard or bacon. By 1892, a Lardeau existed on the northeast arm of Upper Arrow Lake, and plans were promoted to build a railway line to connect Lardo and Lardeau. In 1893, the land registry initially refused to accept the Lardo townsite plan, because the name was too similar to Lardeau. A war of words erupted between the much larger Lardo and the tiny Lardeau. By 1896, the latter site was abandoned and the buildings moved to nearby Comaplix. In reality, most residents of the Upper Arrow Lake area would have preferred their part of the valley not be called the Lardeau mining district. In 1902, the Geographic Board of Canada approved the uniform spelling of Lardo as Lardeau. The mining boom soon ended, followed by a widespread collapse of mining activity after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The name of the Lardo post office, opened in 1899, did not change to Lardeau until 1947. Lardeau today is one of the small communities in the area catering to the tourism industry. The valley comprises mixed

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

References

Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Mining communities in British Columbia Populated places in the West Kootenay {{CentralKootenay-geo-stub