It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the Pacific Ocean.

The frigid waters make crossing impossible and the valley itself is lined with devil's club.

Downriver, the Homathko is joined by Mosley Creek, which flows south from the Pantheon Range.

[4] Bute Inlet and the lower reaches of its major rivers, such as the Homathko and Southgate, were and are home to the Xwe’malhkwu, or Homalco First Nation people.

Indian Residential schools further destroyed traditional Xwe’malhkwu culture and language.

[5] The upper part of the Homathko River basin was home to the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people.

In 1890 a new surveying expedition set out to explore the Homathko River route to the Chilcotin Plateau.

The creation of Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park (the 'ʔ' represents a glottal stop) and Big Creek Provincial Park have shelved the grand plan, as Chilko and Taseko Lakes are protected and cannot be diverted (also for salmon fishery reasons).

But the dams proposed for the Homathko Canyon are still on the books and are effectively on sale by the export subsidiary of BC Hydro, Powerex.

If ever built, the largest dam and powerhouse will stand at a point in Waddington Canyon that is marked on the map as "Murderer's Bar"—no less than the spot on which the Chilcotin War began.