CHAPTER VI.
REVELSTOKE.
Revelstoke, originally named "The Eddy," from a circular erosion in the right bank of the Columbia near by, then renamed "Farwell" for the surveyor who laid out the town-site, received its present name in honour of Lord Revelstoke, an English financier and member of the C.P.R. Company who visited the Canadian West in the late eighties.
The altitude is 1,503 feet. It is interesting to compare the altitude of Revelstoke, of Rogers Pass (4,309 feet) near Glacier, and of Golden (2,560 feet). The profile map of the railway shows the reader by what steep ascents the railway line follows the mountain highway. From Golden across the Selkirks to Revelstoke, the distance is 96 miles. Following the map, we observe how the grade falls slightly towards Beavermouth (135 feet in 29 miles), then rises steeply to Rogers Pass (1,874 feet in 21 miles), and descends abruptly again to Revelstoke (2,806 feet in 46 miles).
Revelstoke is picturesquely situated between the Selkirks and I the Gold Range west, on the Columbia River immediately north of its junction with the Illecillewaet. On either side the snow-clad mountains stand: on the south-west in the Gold Range Mt. Begbie's glaciers, eight miles away, seem close at hand; on the south-east rise the sharp spires of Mts. Mackenzie and Cartier; directly west are other white peaks of the Gold Range, and the dark recesses of the Jordan and Tonkawatla Valleys. Southward sweeps a long vista of the Columbia Valley between the Gold and Selkirk Mountains, the river itself a network of islands and channels.
The valley is here a mile wide at the base and 10 miles wide from crest to crest of the mountains; and the river varies in width from 800 to 3,000 feet, its volume greatly increasing since its detour of the Big Bend enclosing the Selkirks north. At Revelstoke the Railway makes its second crossing of the Columbia and enters the Gold Range by the Tonkawatla Valley towards Eagle Pass.
Revelstoke is an important railway town, being a Divisional Point where are the Company's shops for manufactures and repairs and the headquarters of the Divisional Superintendent and his, staff. Also, it is the junction of the Arrow Lakes Branch of the Railway, a short line of 27 miles connecting with the Company's steamers on Upper Arrow Lake. It is the distributing centre of supplies for the Kootenay mining camps, for the lumbering districts, and headquarters for miners and prospectors in all the regions contiguous. There are several large mills and several factories. The soil is very fertile and no irrigation is necessary. Near the town are areas of arable land suitable for mixed farming and fruit raising. A large tract hitherto leased for timber will soon be opened for agrarian settlement.
The timber is very large and includes cedar, pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock. In the country immediately north are mineral deposits including copper, silver, free gold and mica. South, is a rich mountainous country where galena and free milling quartz are mined. Much English capital is invested in timber and mines in the region.
