Adopted 10 August 1944 on C.3565 as labelled on British Admiralty Chart 538, 1860 et seq.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named in 1860 by Captain Richards, RN; descriptive of the ebb over the rock, whose two peaks were only 9 ft and 21 ft below the surface.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

See description of this once-dangerous shoal in BC pilot Vol I, 1959, p.240. The top of this rock was blown off in 1958, leaving two submerged heads, with 13.7m (45 ft) and 15.2m (50 ft) of water over them. "The Demolition of Ripple Rock" by J.I.A.Rutley, CE, appeared in the International Hydrographic Review Vol 36, July 1959 (photocopy on file S.3.44)

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

"Dozens of vessels were wrecked on the rock and more than 100 people lost their lives. In the 1860s a plan was put forward to link Vancouver Island to the mainland at Bute Inlet, using the twin peaks of Ripple Rock as pilings for the bridge. This plan continued to percolate through the years, promoted by Victoria business interests, until finally the decision was taken to destroy the rock to improve safety for mariners. Two attempts were made, one in 1943 and another in 1945 - during which 9 men died - but both times the work had to be abandoned. In the late 1950s the government tackled the project again. Tunnels were drilled in the ocean floor out to the rock, then up into its peaks. The rock was honeycombed with passages that were packed with 1,237 tonnes of explosives. At 9:33am on 5 April 1958, the largest non-nuclear peacetime explosion in history destroyed Ripple Rock."

Source: Encyclopedia of British Columbia; Daniel Francis, ed; Harbour Publishing Ltd, 2000. ISBN 1-55017-200-X