Harrison Lake
Harrison Lake is located in southwest
British Columbia, just north of the
Fraser River; it is connected to the same through its outflow,
Harrison River. In 1828, Simpson named it after Benjamin Harrison, who would be deputy governor
of the HBC from 1835-39.
Harrison Lake is famous for its hot springs, a legend about which was born when a
small boat capsized there during Winter, and the boaters were rightly shocked to find
themselves bobbing in warm water.
Akrigg and Akrigg note that the Anglicized Indigenous name—likely from the In-SHUCK-ch
Nation—for the lake is “Pook-pah-Kohtl”, or many large spring salmon, perhaps a metaphor
for boiling water.
- 1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 106.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Traditional Territory, In-SHUCK-ch Nation.
- 4. Akrigg and Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names, 106.