Skookumchuck Narrows is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

forming the entrance of

Sechelt Inlet Sechelt Inlet formerly ''Seechelt Inlet'' is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. The inlet is significant in that it almost makes an island of what is instead the Sechelt Peninsula, whose isthmus is at the town of Sechelt at ...

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, ...

's Sunshine Coast in Canada. Before broadening into Sechelt Inlet, all of its

tidal flow Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

together with that of

Salmon Inlet Salmon Inlet, formerly ''Salmon Arm'', is a fjord branching east from Sechelt Inlet in the British Columbia, Canada. Its companion, Narrows Inlet, another side-inlet of Sechelt Inlet, lies roughly north. Misery and Sechelt Creeks flow freely into ...

and

Narrows Inlet Narrows Inlet formerly Narrows Arm is a fjord branching east from Sechelt Inlet in British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountai ...

must pass through

Sechelt Rapids Sechelt (, Shishalh language chat'lich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry tri ...

. At peak flows, standing waves, whitecaps, and whirlpools form at the rapids even in calm weather. The narrows are also the site of

Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on August 25, 1957, to protect the Sechelt Rapids located in the Skookumchuck Narrows Skookumchuck Narrows is a ...

. Each day, tides force large amounts of seawater through the narrows— of water on a tide. The difference in water levels on either side of the rapids can exceed in height. Current speeds can exceed ,Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park
BCParks up to . It is sometimes claimed to be the fastest tidal rapids in the world. The tidal patterns keep the water moving at virtually all times in the narrows area, which attracts a plethora of interesting sea life. The unrelated B.C. town of

Skookumchuck Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. ''Skookum'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "rapids" or "whitewat ...

is several hundred kilometres east in the East Kootenay region of the province. Another location bearing this name,

Skookumchuck Hot Springs :''This page is about natural hot spring near the First Nations community of Skatin 50 kilometres south of Pemberton Pemberton, British Columbia. For the town and associated rapids in the East Kootenay see Skookumchuck, British Columbia; for t ...

, is on the

Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...

east of Whistler. All locations take their name from Chinook Jargon for "strong water" and the term is common in maritime jargon for any set of strong rapids, particularly those at the mouth of inlets. Skookumchuck 2013

In popular culture

Skookumchuck Narrows features in the book ''A Whale Named Henry'', the posthumously-published second book by

M. Wylie Blanchet Muriel Wylie "Capi" Blanchet, née Muriel Wylie Liffiton (2 May 1891 – 28 September 1961) was a Canadians, Canadian travel literature, travel writer. She is best known for her 1961 book ''The Curve of Time'', which recounts summer tr ...

, author of '' The Curve of Time''.^; The book is the story of a small whale who gets trapped behind the rapids.

References

External links

Skookumchuck Best Viewing TimesSechelt Rapids (Current)
Canadian Tide and Current Tables
Skookumchuck tide chart
by Burkard Baschek and David Farmer
Google Maps - Sechelt RapidsSkookumchuck Outdoor InformationSkookumchuck Narrows Hike
{{coord, 49, 44, 51, N, 123, 54, 28, W, region:CA-BC_type:waterbody_source:http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/JBMIK , name=Skookumchuck Narrows, display=title Whirlpools Straits of British Columbia Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) Sunshine Coast Regional District Chinook Jargon place names

In popular culture

See also

References

External links