Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in

Pacific Northwest English Pacific Northwest English (also known, in American linguistics, as Northwest English) is a variety of North American English spoken in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, sometimes also including Idaho and the Canadian province of Brit ...

. ''

Skookum Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has historical use in the Pacific Northwest. It has a range of meanings, commonly associated with an English translation of "strong" or "monstrous". The word can mean "strong", "greatest", "powerful", "ultima ...

'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade' ...

" or "

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

" (literally, "strong water"), or fresh, healthy water. It can mean any rapids, but in coastal usage refers to the powerful tidal rapids at the mouths of most of the major coastal inlets. Skookumchuck_2013

Places named ''Skookumchuck'' include: *

Skookumchuck, British Columbia Skookumchuck is in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This locality straddles both shores of the Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columb ...

, a town in British Columbia named for the large rapids in this area on the

Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in 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, the ...

. *

Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia :''This page is about natural hot spring near the First Nations community of Skatin 50 kilometres south of Pemberton Pemberton, British Columbia. For the town and associated rapids in the East Kootenay see Skookumchuck, British Columbia; for the ...

, a town in British Columbia * Skookumchuck Narrows, a narrow entrance passage into

Sechelt Inlet Sechelt Inlet formerly ''Seechelt Inlet'' is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. The inlet is significant in that it almost makes an island of what is instead the Sechelt Peninsula, whose isthmus is at the town of Sechelt at ...

, a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

in British Columbia's

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

* Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park, a park located at the narrows * Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park, a park near Mabel Lake, British Columbia *

Skookumchuck River The Skookumchuck River is a long river located in southwest Washington, United States. It is a tributary of the Chehalis River and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The Skookumchuck Dam Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common us ...

, a river in southwestern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Skookumchuck, Thurston County, Washington Skookumchuck is a populated place in Thurston County, Washington. It is located east of Offutt Lake and northwest of Rainier. The Chehalis Western Trail The Chehalis Western Trail is a rail trail in Thurston County, Washington and is the long ...

, a populated place *Skookumchuck Creek,

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Cou ...

, Washington *Skookumchuck Creek, Idaho County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

*Skookumchuk Trail,

Franconia, New Hampshire Franconia is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,083 at the 2020 census. Set in the White Mountains, Franconia is home to the northern half of Franconia Notch State Park. Parts of the White Mountain Nation ...

Tidal rapids termed ''skookumchucks'' include: *

Quatsino Narrows Quatsino is a small hamlet of 91 people located on Quatsino Sound in Northern Vancouver Island, Canada only accessible by boat or float plane. Its nearest neighbour is Coal Harbour, to the east, about 20 minutes away by boat, and Port Alice, t ...

References

External links

Kayaking the Skookumchuck

Wooden sea kayak surfing Skookumchuck Rapids
{{Set index article Chinook Jargon place names Former disambiguation pages converted to set index articles Geography of British Columbia Water in Alaska Water in Washington (state)

See also

References

External links