During the low water of March, I like to visit some local relics of the steam age. Some shipwrecks that are usually underwater become visible. Today, however, instead of visiting them physically (it is raining), I explored them virtually. I used PIMS.
PIMS stands for the Property Information and Mapping System of the RDCK (Regional District Central Kootenay). As the RDCK tells us: it offers “parcel, zoning, ALR, floodplain, house numbering, and other data layers. Users can also access zoning bylaws and functions to measure distances, calculate areas and print custom pdf maps.” Clearly, PIMS wasn’t created to explore local history. Yet, it offers a snapshot of the region, and some of that snapshot is distinctly historical. So, let’s see what it presents in the way of ship wrecks on Kootenay Lake—well, the high–resolution LIDAR images are only available for the West Arm, so that is what I explored.
A bit more information on the first two of these wrecks is found at Low Water on the Kootenay-Lake Website.
PIMS gives two clear images of wrecks from the steam age: the S.S. Kuskanook (at Kokanee Landing) and the S.S. Hosmer (between Bealby and Horlick’s Points). These are in shallow water and are easy to see. It also shows one other wreck in somewhat deeper water: the 15–car Railway Transfer Barge (at the Nelson Bridge). There are other wrecks along the arm which are too deep to see with PIMS. And there are other wrecks on the Main Lake, which the LIDAR imaging does not cover.
The S.S. Kuskanook sits along the North Shore at Kokanee Landing just east of the Kokanee Park Marina (accessed by a path at about 5176 Kokanee Landing Road). During the low water of March it is almost all out of water.
To travel to it with PIMS go to:
Easting: 492142.934
Northing: 5495309.739
Here is a view of the Kuskanook as presented by PIMS.
The S.S. Hosmer (the largest steam tug on the Lake) sits on the South Shore in the shallows between Bealby and Horlick’s Points. The boiler always extends above the water, but during low water, more of the hull is visible.
To travel to it with PIMS go to:
Easting: 481439.981
Northing: 5485560.798
Here is a view of the Hosmer as presented by PIMS.
Update: in the original posting, I picked the wrong feature for the barge near the bridge. Lou Coletti pointed out that the barge is actually slightly farther upstream than the location I picked. Lou should know: he is not only a very knowledgable local historian, but he lives beside the RCMP station and the barge is partly on his waterfront. It is now correct.
The 15–car Railway Transfer Barge sits on the South Shore just upstream of the Nelson Bridge and just north of the RCMP station. I don’t have a surface picture showing it. I have looked, but never seen it in the stygian depths. Yet, it does appear in the PIMS imagery
To travel to it with PIMS go to:
Easting: 479762.586
Northing: 5484198.744
A word of caution: this is a modified version of the view presented by PIMS. It is a PIMS image that I have digitally enhanced to show the barge in the murk. At low water, a bit of the barge is exposed. In this picture, it is the object which is circled in the upper right. The Nelson bridge is in the lower left, and the RCMP station is in the lower right.
Note: There are other historical features that I have seen with PIMS; they might make another interesting posting or two.
If you spot something historical with PIMS, tell me about it.
the barge would not be in that PIMS image. It is almost onshore at the north corner of the RCMP property. The steam tug Ymir?? might be near the upper left corner of that image, but is in 15plus meters of water. There may be some underwater piling remnants in that image.
Lou, you are one of the few people I would have trusted with this insight—if anyone would know, it is you. Thank you. I will try again to look for the barges with PIMS. I don’t think the rectangle I found is the Ymir (I wonder what it is—it is the wrong shape and the wrong place). I will write you directly in the pursuit of a sighting of the barge. If we find it in PIMS, I will post the results.
Lou’s concerns have been addressed and the updated position is shown above.