| Feature Type: | Falls - Perpendicular or steep descent of water. Variation of Waterfall. |
| Status: | Official |
| Name Authority: | BC Geographical Names Office |
| Relative Location: | On Murtle River, E of Mahood Lake at SW end of Wells Gray Provincial Park, Kamloops Division Yale Land District |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 51°57'13"N, 120°10'37"W at the approximate centre of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 92P/16 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Adopted 3 March 1955 on 92P. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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Vertical drop: 450 feet - the 4th highest known waterfall in British Columbia (after Della, Hunlen and Takakkaw Falls). Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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After Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken (1825-1920), who arrived in Victoria from England in 1850. After a dangerous and arduous assignment to Fort Rupert, he returned to Victoria where in 1852 he married Cecilia, daughter of Governor Douglas. Helmcken took an active part in the political life of the young colony as a staunch supporter of his father-in-law. He was a member of the first Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island in 1855, of which he subsequently served as speaker. After first opposing British Columbia's membership in the Canadian confederation, Dr. Helmcken came around to support it, and he was offered, but declined, a seat in the federal senate. He preferred to devote himself to his family and his medical practice. Source: Canadian Geographical Names Database, Ottawa |