| Feature Type: | River - Watercourse of variable size, which has tributaries and flows into a body of water or a larger watercourse. |
| Status: | Official |
| Name Authority: | BC Geographical Names Office |
| Relative Location: | Flows W into Khutzeymateen Inlet, entrance to Portland Inlet, Range 5 Coast Land District |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 54°37'30"N, 129°54'00"W at the approximate mouth of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 103I/12 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Adopted 4 November 1948 on Map 103 NE, as labelled on BC map 3M, 1916, and as listed in the 1930 BC Gazetteer. Confirmed 4 October 1951 on Map 103I. Presumably named in association with Khutzeymateen Inlet. Source: BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, file P.1.48. |
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Khutzeymateen – The name of this inlet, adopted in 1933, is an adaptation of K’tzim-a-deen, a Tsimshian First Nation phrase meaning “deep valley at the end of an inlet.” In 1992 a 443-sq-km portion of the Khutzeymateen River valley and estuary was named Canada’s first grizzly bear sanctuary, off-limits to hunting and logging. An additional 3850-sq-km no-hunting zone surrounds the sanctuary but is not park of the park. In the early 2000s, discussions were being held about the possibility of expanding the no-hunting zone to 8000 sq km. Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, page 307. |
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Khutzeymateen is a Tsimshian word meaning "in valley." Advice from Randy Bouchard, linguist. Source: included with note |