Germansen River

The Germansen River, formerly Germansen Creek, is a major south tributary of the Omenica River in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada.^[1] The settlement and former gold-rush centre of Germansens Landing is located at its confluence with the Omineca.^[2] Along its course is Germansen Lake^[3] at 55°41′45″N 124°51′10″W / 55.69583°N 124.85278°W / 55.69583; -124.85278, south of which is the Germansen Range^[4] and Mount Germansen.^[5]

Name origin

All "Germansen" placenames were named for James Germansen, of St. Paul, Minnesota, who first discovered gold deposits here in 1870, during the Omineca Gold Rush.^[6]

Gold placer earnings

The first reported earnings from the benches along Germansen Creek were a little over a year after James Germansen's first strike, with $10,000 reported in the last week of August, 1871. By the end of that season in October, a total of $400,000 by Peter O'Reilly, who was then Gold Commissioner for the Cariboo Mining Division.Earnings waned from that point, with $80,000 being reported for Germansen and Manson Creeks for the season in 1874 and $32,000 being reported for 1875. By 1876, the mining district was "almost deserted".^[7]

References

Coordinates: 55°47′14″N 124°41′59″W / 55.78722°N 124.69972°W / 55.78722; -124.69972