Cowichan River
The Cowichan River is a Canadian Heritage River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Its headwater is Cowichan Lake. The river flows east over Skutz Falls and through Marie Canyon towards its mouth at Cowichan Bay. The river's d ...
Marie Canyon
Marie Canyon is a canyon on the Cowichan River, just below Skutz Falls, on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
The canyon is named for Marie Adelaide, Viscountess Willingdon, C.I., G.B.E. (wife of the then- Governor-General o ...
. The name was originally ''Skwets'' or ''Squitz'', meaning "waterfall" in the Cowichan dialect of Halkomelem.
When salmon are spawning, people come to the falls to see them climb up the fish ladders that were built beside the falls. Prior to the building of the fish ladder, the falls, which resemble steep rapids dropping about 20 feet, were a barrier for all fish.
In the summer, the river is very calm below the falls and people visit the area to swim or inner tube below the falls. There is also a campground nearby.