McDougall Falls facts for kids
McDougall Falls is a cool waterfall found in Wells Gray Provincial Park, a big natural area in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It's a special spot along the Murtle River.
Discovering McDougall Falls
Where is McDougall Falls?
McDougall Falls is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) downstream from a calm part of Murtle Lake called Diamond Lagoon. The waterfall is 14 meters (about 46 feet) tall, which is like a four-story building! To reach it, you can hike along the south side of the Murtle River. But first, you need to paddle a canoe across Murtle Lake to get to the start of the trail.
How McDougall Falls Got Its Name
The waterfall was first seen by a man named Joseph Hunter on May 27, 1874. He was a surveyor, which means he measured land to help plan things like roads or, in his case, a future train track for the Canadian Pacific Railway. This was a very important train company that helped connect Canada.
Joseph Hunter didn't name the falls himself. But he did name the Murtle River and Murtle Lake! He named them after his hometown in Scotland, which was called Milton of Murtle.
McDougall Falls and McDougall Lake, which is north of the falls, were named after a person named Pete McDougal. He was a homesteader in the Clearwater River Valley from 1913 to 1936. A homesteader was someone who settled on land given by the government to farm and live on. Over the years, the spelling of "McDougal" for the person and "McDougall" for the falls and lake became different.
