Skookumchuck is a word in the Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...

 that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English

Pacific Northwest English

Pacific Northwest English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest is defined as an area that includes the American states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, western Montana, southeastern Alaska, northern California, the Canadian provinces of British...

. Skookum means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so skookumchuck means "rapids" or "whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

" (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 inlet

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

s.

Skookumchuck could also mean

• Skookumchuck, British Columbia
  Skookumchuck, British Columbia
  Skookumchuck is a Canadian town in the East Kootenay region of the province of British Columbia, along British Columbia highway 93/95 at the junction of the Kootenay and Lussier Rivers.-Industry:...
  
  
• Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia
  Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia
  T'sek Hot Springs, near the First Nation community of Skookumchuck and more recently as Skatin is on the historic Harrison Lillooet Gold Rush trail in the Lillooet River valley, south of Lillooet Lake, in British Columbia, Canada...
  
  
• Skookumchuck Narrows
  Skookumchuck Narrows
  Skookumchuck Narrows forms the entrance of Sechelt Inlet on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in Canada. Before broadening into Sechelt Inlet, all of its tidal flow together with that of Salmon Inlet and Narrows Inlet must pass through Sechelt Rapids. At peak flows, whitecaps and whirlpools form at...
  
  
• Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park
• Skookumchuck River
  Skookumchuck River
  The Skookumchuck River is a long river located in southwest Washington, USA. It is a tributary of the Chehalis River and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The Skookumchuck Dam was built in 1970, creating the Skookumchuck Reservoir. The dam provides water supply for the 1400-megawatt Centralia Steam...
  
  
• Skookumchuck Cup

See also

• Chinook Jargon
  Chinook Jargon
  Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
  
  
• List of Chinook Jargon placenames
• Chinook Jargon use by English-language speakers