| Language of origin | Algonquian language family Cree language |
| Feature Type: | Caves - Natural subterranean chamber open to the surface. Plural of Cave. |
| Status: | Official |
| Name Authority: | BC Geographical Names Office |
| Relative Location: | S slopes of Ursus Major Mountain and valley of Cougar Brook, SW of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, Kootenay Land District |
| Tags: | Indigenous |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 51°16'44"N, 117°35'30"W at the approximate centre of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 82N/5 |
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Origin Notes and History:
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Adopted in the 18th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 31 March 1924, as labelled on Dominion sectional map #163, Donald, 1911. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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"Nakimu is a Cree** word meaning grumbling, presumably referring to the noise made by water flowing through underground streams." See "The Selkirk Mountains - A Guide for Mountain Pilgrims and Climbers" by A.O.Wheeler, 1911, p 106-117, including a map and plan of the caves drawn from October 1905 surveys by Wheeler. (Provincial Archives accession # NW971.21 / W.562.) See also the April 1928 issue of "Natural Resources, Canada" published by the Government Printing Bureau, Ottawa. ** Parks Canada now identifies Nakimu as a Shuswap word, meaning grumbling spirits. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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Nakimu Caves are a six kilometer maze of interconnecting passageways, formed by the action of Cougar Brook on a soft limestone strata; getting to the cave via Balu Pass is a 7 kilometre journey though avalanche terrain in winter and grizzly habitat in summer. First explored by Charles Deutschmann in 1904, the caves were part of the Glacier House hotel era where early park visitors were escorted by Deutschmann, working as the first ever interpretive guide hired by a Canadian national park. A carriage road up Cougar Valley and a teahouse near the cave entrance were well used through the 1920s, but visitation declined with the closure of Glacier House. (from National Park Feature Article: Nakimu Caves, by Michael Morris; Parks Canada, January 2002)
Source: included with note |