Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in

Pacific Northwest English Pacific Northwest English (also known, in American linguistics, as Northwest English) is a variety of North American English spoken in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, sometimes also including Idaho and the Canadian province of British ...

. ''

Skookum Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has historical use in the Pacific Northwest. It has a range of meanings, commonly associated with an English translation of "strong" or "monstrous". The word can mean "strong", "greatest", "powerful", "ultima ...

'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

" or "

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

" (literally, "strong water"), or fresh, healthy water. It can mean any rapids, but in coastal usage refers to the powerful

tidal rapid 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 ...

s at the mouths of most of the major coastal inlets. Skookumchuck_2013

Places named ''Skookumchuck'' include: *

Skookumchuck, British Columbia Skookumchuck is in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This locality straddles both shores of the Kootenay River north of the mouth of the Lussier River. The crossing, on the merged section of highways 93 and 95, is by roa ...

, a town in British Columbia named for the large rapids in this area on the

Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the l ...

. *

Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia :''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 th ...

, a town in British Columbia *

Skookumchuck Narrows Skookumchuck Narrows is a strait forming the entrance of Sechelt Inlet on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in Canada. Before broadening into Sechelt Inlet, all of its tidal flow together with that of Salmon Inlet and Narrows Inlet must pass th ...

, a narrow entrance passage into

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 ...

, a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

in British Columbia's Sunshine Coast *

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 ...

, a park located at the narrows *

Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Shuswap River just below the outlet of Mabel Lake Mabel Lake is a lake located in southern Interior British Columbia, Canada, that is fed by a ...

, a park near Mabel Lake, British Columbia *

Skookumchuck River The Skookumchuck River is a long river located in southwest Washington, United States. It is a tributary of the Chehalis River and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The Skookumchuck Dam was built in 1970, creating the Skookumchuck Reservoir. The d ...

, a river in southwestern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

* Skookumchuck, Thurston County, Washington, a populated place *Skookumchuck Creek,

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

, Washington *Skookumchuck Creek,

Idaho County Idaho County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho, and the largest by area in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,541. The county seat is Grangeville. Previous county seats of the area were Florence Florence ( ; it ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

*Skookumchuk Trail,

Franconia, New Hampshire Franconia is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,083 at the 2020 census. Set in the White Mountains, Franconia is home to the northern half of Franconia Notch State Park. Parts of the White Mountain Nation ...

Tidal rapids termed ''skookumchucks'' include: * Quatsino Narrows

References

External links

Kayaking the Skookumchuck

Wooden sea kayak surfing Skookumchuck Rapids
{{Set index article Chinook Jargon place names Former disambiguation pages converted to set index articles Geography of British Columbia Water in Alaska Water in Washington (state)

See also

References

External links