Nakusp, BC, Village, pop 1524 (2006c), 1698 (2001c), inc 1964. Nakusp is located on the east shore of Upper Arrow Lake at the foot of the SELKIRK MOUNTAINS in the West Kootenay district of south-eastern British Columbia. The name is derived from a native word for the bay where the village is located. The region was settled during the Slocan Valley mining boom of the 1890s and early 1900s. Settlers also engaged in mixed farming and a prosperous lumber industry developed as well. Established in 1893 as the western terminus of the Nakusp and Slocan Railway, Nakusp was an important landing for the various paddlewheel steamboats that served the industries and settlers along the Arrow Lakes until the 1950s. After that, the village and area went into some decline but have recovered in recent years. The forest industry remains important today and tourism has increased greatly with a new highway and free ferry connecting the area with the Trans-Canada Highway at REVELSTOKE 101 km north. The nearby Nakusp Hot Springs, owned by the village, is open year-round.