The Nicolum River, formerly Nicolum Creek, is a tributary of the Coquihalla River

Coquihalla River

The Coquihalla River is located in the Cascade Mountains near the town of Hope, British Columbia. It originates in the Coquihalla Lakes and empties into the Fraser River at Hope....

, rising in the Cascade Mountains

North Cascades

The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...

 and flowing northwest to join that stream near the town of Hope, British Columbia

Hope, British Columbia

Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Nicolum River Provincial Park

Nicolum River Provincial Park

Nicolum River Provincial Park, formerly Nicolum Provincial Park, is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located at the confluence of the Nicolum and Coquihalla Rivers near the town of Hope.-References:...

 is located at the confluence of the two rivers.

In 1942, the official name of the stream was changed to Nicolum Creek on the recommendation of the Dominion Topographic Survey to reflect its relative size. The official name was changed back to Nicolum River in 1991 based on local nomenclature. The name appears as "Nkalaoum River" on John Arrowsmith

John Arrowsmith (cartographer)

John Arrowsmith was an English geographer and member of the Arrowsmith family of geographers. He was born at Winston, County Durham....

's 1862 map and as "Nicolume River" on Joseph Trutch

Joseph Trutch

Sir Joseph William Trutch, KCMG was an English-born Canadian engineer, surveyor and politician.-Early life and career:...

's 1871 map.

In 1965, Outram Lake, a small lake in the river, was buried by the Hope Slide

Hope Slide

The Hope Slide was the largest landslide ever recorded in Canada. It occurred in the morning hours of January 9, 1965 in the Nicolum Valley near Hope, British Columbia, and killed four people...

, and the river's course altered.