The remote and pristine Bute Inlet is a deep fjord located amongst the narrow tidal passages at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia. Carved deep into the mountains of mainland British Columbia's west coast, the wilderness and mist-shrouded inlet boasts magnificent coastal scenery and abundant wildlife. Considered one of the grandest fjords in the world, the inlet is surrounded by the rugged coastal mountains that heave out of the emerald waters and rise to heights of nearly 10,000 feet, capped by the Homathko Icefield and numerous other glaciers in the surrounding mountain ranges. Bute Inlet is 75 km (47 miles) long, with an average width of 3.7 km (2.3 miles) and a maximum depth of 650 metres (2,130 feet). The upper reaches of the inlet comprise steep granite bluffs, numerous hanging valleys, and splendid cascading waterfalls. The area is the traditional home of the Homalco Band of the Coast Salish people, who lived for thousands of years in several large villages on Bute Inlet and on Stuart Island at the mouth of the inlet. The first European contact with the First Nations people of Bute Inlet was recorded by the expedition party of explorer Captain George Vancouver during his survey of the Northwest Coast of now British Columbia during the summer of 1792. There are two main rivers flowing into Bute Inlet, both emptying into Waddington Harbour at the head of the inlet; the Homathko River and the Southgate River. The larger of the two, the Homathko, drains an interior watershed containing several permanent icefields. Runoff to Bute Inlet is highly seasonal, peaking with snow and ice melts in July. During the Cariboo Gold Rush an ambitious but impractical attempt to build a wagon road from the Pacific coast via Bute Inlet to the Cariboo gold fields was thwarted in the spring of 1864. Led by their Chief Tellot, Natives from the Chilcotin Nation in the interior descended from the mountains surrounding Bute Inlet and killed the crews working to build the road, stopping any further attempt to establish an alternative and shorter route from Victoria to the goldfields. Today, Bute Inlet is a paradise for photographers, sports fishermen, hikers, kayakers, mountain climbers, wildlife enthusiasts, and experienced backcountry users. A small sawmill at the Homathko logging camp on the Homathko River delta is operated by a few seasonal loggers.