Waddington Canyon is a canyon on the

Homathko River The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the P ...

in the heart of the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , ...

of the Coast Mountains in

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 ...

, located below the confluence of Mosley Creek. The canyon was named for

Alfred Waddington Alfred Penderell Waddington (October 2, 1801 – February 26, 1872), during his later years, was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada. From 1860 to 1861 he was a re ...

, a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

-era entrepreneur who sought to build a road by this route to the Cariboo goldfields from the head of

Bute Inlet , image = Bute Inlet.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Strathcona RD, British Co ...

, which is the outflow of the Homathko River. Opposition to the project and the abusiveness of the project's foreman led to the

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

of 1864. The location of the killings that touched off the war is in the depths of the canyon at a location marked on maps as Murderers' Bar. Waddington Canyon has been proposed as the site of one of the dams of a hydroelectric development involving a number of lakes and rivers in the region, including Tatlayoko, Chilko and

Taseko Lakes The Taseko Lakes are a pair of lakes, Upper Taseko Lake and Lower Taseko Lake, which are expansions of the upper Taseko River in the southern Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Their name is based on the orig ...

, as well as Mosley Creek and the Homathko and

Southgate River The Southgate River is a river in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, entering the head of Bute Inlet, on that province's South Coast, just east of the mouth of the Homathko River at Waddington Harbour. The l ...

References

* Canyons and gorges of British Columbia Landforms of the Chilcotin Central Coast of British Columbia Pacific Ranges {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub

See also

References