The Southgate River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Pacific Ranges

Pacific Ranges

The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola, north of which are the Kitimat Ranges.The Pacific Ranges...

 of the Coast Mountains

Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...

 in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, 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...

, entering the head of Bute Inlet

Bute Inlet

Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...

, on that province's South Coast

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

, just east of the mouth of the Homathko River

Homathko River

The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...

 at Waddington Harbour. The lower reaches of the river's course are flat-bottomed and are named Pigeon Valley. The river is approximately 65 km in length, beginning on the western flank of Good Hope Mountain, to the east of the Homathko Icefield

Homathko Icefield

The Homathko Icefield is an icefield in British Columbia, Canada. Officially named the Homathko Snowfield from 1950 until the current name was adopted in 1976, it is one of the largest icefields in the southern half of the Coast Mountains, with an area of over...

, and then flows generally SSW for about 40 km before turning WNW towards the head of Bute Inlet. The Bishop River enters it from the east after the first 20 km of its course and has its origin at Ring Pass, which lies between the Compton Neve

Compton Névé

The Compton Névé is an icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located east of the Homathko Icefield and Mount Gilbert and to the south of the Bishop River...

 (W) and the Lillooet Icecap

Lillooet Icecap

The Lillooet Icecap, also called the Lillooet Icefield or the Lillooet Crown, is a large icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is about northwest of the towns of Pemberton and Whistler, and about north of Vancouver, British Columbia...

 (E) and forms the divide with the uppermost Lillooet River

Lillooet River

The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of Whistler...

.

Name origin

Its namesake was Captain James Johnson Southgate, a retired ship-master, who came to Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 in 1859 via San Francisco and launched a commission and general mercantile business, largely in connection with the Pacific Station

Pacific Station

The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 at Esquimalt, operating as J.J. Southgate & Co. He sold the business and returned to England in 1865, but during his time in Victoria, he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island

Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island

The Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island was the colonial parliamentary body that was elected to represent voters in the Colony of Vancouver Island. It was created in 1856 after a series of petitions were sent to the colonial office in London protesting the Hudson’s Bay Company’s proprietary...

 from 1860 to 1863, as the member for Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...

. He died in London in 1894. The Southgate Group of islands are also named for him.