Clowhom River
The Clowhom River is a short, 19.8-kilometre (12.3 mi) river in British Columbia. It flows into the head of the Salmon Inlet about 26.2 km west of Squamish.[1]
Course
The Clowhom originates at the outlet of a tiny, unnamed lake on the south slopes of Mount Jimmy Jimmy. It flows south from there for about 4.4 km until it enters remote Phantom Lake.[2] The river turns east upon exiting Phantom Lake and very soon drops over tall Phantom Falls,[3] which is rumored to stand at least 500 feet high. From Phantom Falls, the river runs east for about 4.4 km before turning south for about 5.7 miles and then southwest for about 5 km before entering the north end of Clowhom Lake. The river flows through a dam upon exiting the south end of Clowhom Lake. It only flows about 0.3 km from the lake outlet as it soon reaches its mouth in the Salmon Inlet.
Extensive logging persisted in the region from the 1920s to the 1970s, with railway, and diesel trucks yarding the large fir and cedar trees out. Fish farms have taken over from the logging now.
Clowhom Dam
The 33MW dam was built in 1953 to provide power to the pulp mill at Port Mellon near Gibsons. It is currently operated by BC Hydro.49°42′41″N 123°32′7″W / 49.71139°N 123.53528°W[4]
Tributaries
The Clowhom River has 4 major named tributaries. The first is Red Tusk Creek, which flows into the river just above Clowhom Lake, the second is Taquat Creek, which enters the lake just below its inlet, the third is Dempster Creek, which enters not far down the lake's shore from the mouth of Taquat Creek and the last one is Bear Creek, a river-sized creek that enters the lower reaches of the lake.
See also
References
- ^ "Clowhom River". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Phantom Lake". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest: Phantom Falls
- ^ BC Hydro (June 2010), Quick Facts for the Year Ended March 31, 2010 (PDF), retrieved 2011-11-28