| Feature Type: | Lake - Inland body of standing water. |
| Status: | Official |
| Name Authority: | BC Geographical Names Office |
| Relative Location: | Head of South Nanaimo River, E of Mount Whymper, Cowichan Lake Land District |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 48°57'50"N, 124°05'16"W at the approximate centre of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 92C/16 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Adopted 11 december 1952 on 92C/16, as an established local name; in flood it drains into Rheinhart Creek. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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Labelled Chemainos Lake on "Map of Vancouver Island and part of British Columbia" to accompany the paper by Robert Brown (as originally published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society), 1865, and on British Admiralty Chart 1917, 1888. Robert Brown, leader of the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition, 1864, probably extrapolated this from a 'Sheet of Water in the Valley of Chemanus" an insert on John Buttle's Map of the Country between Barclay Sound and Nanaimo, 1864. The lake is situated along the trail linking Chemainus River and South Nanaimo River - probably today's "Rheinhart Lake". Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |