The Chilko River is a river in the
Chilcotin District
The Chilcotin () region of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lee of the C ...
of the
Central Interior of British Columbia
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, flowing northeast from
Chilko Lake to the
Chilcotin River.
Its main tributary is the
Taseko River.
The Chilko is the Chilcotin River's main tributary. In fact at their confluence the Chilko River is much larger than the Chilcotin. It is also the main reason why the lower reaches of the Chilcotin are very silty. The Chilko gets most of its
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
from the Taseko River, which joins it a few kilometers above the Chilko's mouth.
Name origin
The name "Chilko" is the product of
linguistic anglicisation of the
Tŝilhqot’in name ''Tŝilhqóx'', (also spelled without vowel flattening as ''Tsilhqox''). The meaning of the name is contested, and is the subject of much
folk etymologising. Some believe the meaning to be "ochre river",
but other contenders are "axe river" (from ''tŝinlh yeqox''), "river from the ponderosa pine" (from ''tsilhtsilh yeqox''), or "river with rocks" (from ''tŝi belh yeqox'').
The related name of the Chilcotin River is from that of the
Tŝilhqot’in First Nation, from ''Tŝilhqox Gwet’in'', meaning "people of Tŝilhqox".
The name ''Tŝilhqox'' refers to the whole Chilko River as well as lower Chilcotin River, with its source at the north end of
Chilko Lake and its mouth at its confluence with the
Fraser River
The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...
. Due to a confused naming process, the name "
Chilcotin River" refers to only the lower segment of ''Tŝilhqox'', then follows a smaller tributary (''Cheẑqox''/Chezacut River) northwest to
Chilcotin Lake (''Cheẑich’ed Biny''/Chezacut Lake), and then further north and west along another tributary (''Yeqox Gunchagh'' or "big creek" in Tŝilhqot’in) to its nominal source.
See also
*
List of rivers of British Columbia
The following is a partial list of rivers of British Columbia, organized by drainage basin, watershed. Some large creeks are included either because of size or historical importance
(See Alphabetical List of British Columbia rivers ). Also includ ...
*
List of tributaries of the Fraser River
This is a partial listing of tributaries of the Fraser River. Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically listed in upstream order from the mouth of the Fraser River. The list may also include streams known as creeks and sloughs. Lakes are ...
References
{{Reflist
Tributaries of the Fraser River
Rivers of the Chilcotin
Cariboo Land District