Simpson River, in

Kootenay National Park Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Vermili ...

, is a tributary of Vermilion River flowing through Simpson Valley; which in turn is a tributary of the

Kootenay River The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of 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, ...

and eventually the Columbia River. Its named tributaries include the North Simpson River, Surprise Creek, Lachine Creek, and Verdant Creek. The river's headwaters form on the north slope of Nestor Peak. Simpson River is named for Sir George Simpson Governor of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

which owned

Ruperts Land Rupert may refer to: * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada * Rupert, Quebec, a village * Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert's Lan ...

. He discovered it while leading an expedition, consisting of 25 men and 45 horses, through this area of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in 1841.

Trail blazing Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

faster shorter routes to the jointly occupied region which the British called the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...

and American's referred to as

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

, was essential if the British were to hold it. A trail blaze with his initials, was found in 1904 atop Simpson Pass, near present-day

Sunshine Village Banff Sunshine Village (formerly Sunshine Village) is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is ...

. It is now housed in the Banff Park Museum.

References

Sources

Historic Milestones of Kootenay National Park

Rivers of British Columbia East Kootenay Rivers of the Canadian Rockies {{BritishColumbiaInterior-river-stub