Skookumchuck

Skookumchuck is a word in the Chinook Jargon that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. "Skookum" means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so "skookumchuck" means "rapids" or "whitewater" (literally, "strong water"). It can mean any rapids, but in coastal usage refers to the powerful tidal rapids at the mouths of most of the major coastal inlets.

*Skookumchuck, British Columbia, is a post office stop in the Kootenay region of British Columbia, possibly named for rapids that may have existed in that stretch of the Kootenay River. Locals, however, believe that the word Skookumchuck in this case refers not to rapids (there are none) but to the numerous strong-smelling hot springs that occur along a north-south stretch of the Rocky Mountain Trench just to the north of the community. The commercially-developed Fairmont and Radium Hot Springs are the most well known of these, while others back in the mountains at Lussier River and Ram Creek are more known locally. The creek which meets the Kootenay River at present-day Skookumchuck is also named Skookumchuck River, and a peak near its source in the Purcell Mountains to the west is named Skookumchuck Mountain.
*Skookumchuck Narrows is a tidal rapid at the head of Sechelt Inlet in British Columbia. This is "the" skookumchuck, of all the many lesser skookumchucks of the British Columbia Coast and Alaska. It is the location of Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park.
*Skookumchuck Hot Springs, is a semi-abandoned historic Catholic mission town on the Lillooet River, south of Pemberton, British Columbia, and is also known as Skatin in the St'at'imcets (Lillooet) language (with the same meaning). The name here refers to the "Falls of the Lillooet", a shallow rapid on the Lillooet River, and also by implication the hot springs the mission town was built around.
*Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park protects a freshwater skookumchuck on the Shuswap River just below the outlet of mabel Lake.
*Skookumchuck River is a tributary of the Chehalis River in Washington.

There are a number of "skookumchuck" placenames in neighbouring US states, some referring to saltwater rapids, others as placenames. There is even a Skookumchuck Brook as far east as New Hampshire. See List of Chinook Jargon placenames.

See also

* Chinook Jargon
* Chinook Jargon words in British Columbia and Yukon
* List of Chinook Jargon placenames
* Chinook Jargon use by English-language speakers