| 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 NE into North Thompson River, E of Murtle Lake, Wells Gray Provincial Park, Kamloops Division Yale Land District |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 52°06'14"N, 119°16'45"W at the approximate mouth of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 83D/3 |
| Related Maps: |
83D 83D/3 83D/4 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Adopted 9 April 1962 on 83D/3, as long-labelled on maps, including Trutch's 1871 map of British Columbia and BC map 3J, 1917. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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Identified as "Elsecar River" by Milton & Cheadle, who journeyed this way 1862-63. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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The Reverend George M. Grant, describing his journey down the valley of the North Thompson in 1872, observes, "Blue River gets its name from the deep soft blue of the distant hills, which are seen from its mouth well up into the gap through which it runs". Source: Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; British Columbia Place Names; Sono Nis Press, Victoria 1986 /or University of British Columbia Press 1997 |