| 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 SE then N into Stuart Channel, S of Chemainus, Chemainus Land District |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 48°53'51"N, 123°40'17"W at the approximate mouth of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 92B/13 |
| Related Maps: |
92B/13 92C/16 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Chemainus River adopted in the 9th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 30 June 1910, as labelled on British Admiralty Chart 579, 1865 et seq, not "Chemanis River" as spelled on Trutch's 1871 map of British Columbia. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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Name first given to the district by Thomas George Askew, settler in 1856, referring to "Tsiminnis" a legendary figure who led the migration of an [Indigenous] tribe from the Alberni area to the head of Horse Shoe Bay (later re-named Chemainus Bay). Source: Provincial Archives of BC "Place Names File" compiled 1945-1950 by A.G. Harvey from various sources, with subsequent additions |
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Chemainus means "bitten breast" (Report of Cowichan Historical Society, published in The Cowichan Leader, 22 February 1934). (see also Chemainus Bay) Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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"Selwacuth" identified on BC name card as the traditional name for this feature (origin/meaning not cited). Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |