The Deserted River is a short river in the Jervis Inlet region of the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, flowing in a short course generally southwest into the eastern "elbow" of that inlet, to the southeast of Malibu, British Columbia. The river was named in association with the location of its outlet, Deserted Bay, which was named in 1860 by the British Admiralty. The name derives from a deserted village of the Shishalh (Sechelt) people on the south shore of the bay, who fled the area after attacks by grizzly bears, abandoning the village.