The Tsolum River is a short river on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

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 ...

. It joins the

Puntledge River The Puntledge River is a small river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It joins the Tsolum River to form the Courtenay River, which enters the Strait of Georgia at the city of Courtenay. Name origin The name is derived from that ...

to form the

Courtenay River The Courtenay River is a short river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, being the name of the channel from the confluence of the Puntledge and Tsolum Rivers, in the City of Courtenay, and its outlet into Comox Harbour Comox may re ...

in the City of Courtenay.

Name origin

Originally identified on Admiralty charts as "River Courtenay" and given as "Courtney River" by Dr. Robert Brown of the

Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley that were then unknown. The expedition went as far north as the ...

, and as "the Slough known as Tsalum", it first appeared as the Tzolum River on a BC Lands map in 1895, and again in 1905. The name Tsolum River was made official in 1922. Upper Tsolum River

Loss of biodiversity

In 1964, the Mount Washington Copper Mining Co. had moved into its watershed and began a small copper mine. By 1966, the company had left the area after extracting 940,000 tonnes of waste rock. Even though their mining lasted only three year, the repercussions of their mining practices can still be seen today. What was once a river that was sprawling with 15,000 Coho Salmon had depleted to only 14 by 1984. In 1997 the Tsolum River Task Force was formed by over 200 local residents with the goal of restoring Tsolum River's health and productivity.

References

Rivers of Vancouver Island Mid Vancouver Island {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub