Columbia Lake | |
---|---|
Location | British Columbia |
Coordinates | 50°14′N115°52′W / 50.233°N 115.867°W |
Type | natural |
Primary outflows | Columbia River |
Basin countries | Canada |
Max. length | 13.5 km (8.4 mi) |
Max. width | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
Surface area | 25.7 km2 (9.9 sq mi) |
Average depth | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
Max. depth | 5.2 m (17 ft) |
Surface elevation | 808 m (2,651 ft) |
References | [1] |
Columbia Lake is the primary lake at the headwaters of the Columbia River, in British Columbia, Canada. It is fed by several small tributaries. The village of Canal Flats is located at the south end of the lake.
Columbia Lake is a fresh water lake located along Highway 93 and 95, between the centres of Canal Flats and Fairmont Hot Springs in British Columbia, Canada. [2] Its average July temperature of 18 °C makes it the largest warm water lake in the East Kootenay. It has a mean depth of only 2.9 metres (9 ft 6 in), to a maximum of 5.2 metres (17 ft), with excellent water clarity as it enjoys a much smaller volume of boat traffic than its northern neighbour, Windermere Lake. [1] [3]
The Kootenay River, a major tributary of the Columbia, passes within a few thousand feet of the south end of the lake. In freshets the Kootenay, here already a large stream, sometimes overflows into Columbia Lake, and historically the Baillie-Grohman Canal connected the two bodies of water to facilitate the navigation of steamboats (although only three trips were ever made through it). [4]
The Continental Divide of the Americas is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain into the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and Hudson Bay.
Yoho National Park is a national park of Canada. It is located within the Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered by Kootenay National Park to the south and Banff National Park to the east in Alberta. The word Yoho is a Cree expression of amazement or awe, and it is an apt description for the park's spectacular landscape of massive ice fields and mountain peaks, which rank among the highest in the Canadian Rockies.
The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.
The Burrard Peninsula is a peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, bounded by the Burrard Inlet to the north, the Georgia Strait to the west, the North Arm of Fraser River to the south, and the Pitt River and Douglas Island to the east. The City of Vancouver occupies almost all of the western half of the peninsula, and the Cities of Burnaby and New Westminster occupy more than half of the eastern half. At its northeastern end, the peninsula is connected to the Eagle Mountain and Mount Burke of the Coast Mountains via a small isthmus at the center of the Tri-Cities.
Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed the ecosystem in and around the water. The Kootenay Lake ferry is a year-round toll-free ferry that crosses between Kootenay Bay and Balfour. The lake is a popular summer tourist destination.
Canal Flats is a village municipality in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This Columbia Valley community lies between the southern end of Columbia Lake and the northwest shore of the Kootenay River. The locality, on Highway 93/95, is by road about 83 kilometres (52 mi) north of Cranbrook and 165 kilometres (103 mi) southeast of Golden.
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies of south eastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of the Continental Divide, adjacent to Elk Lakes Provincial Park.
The Duncan River is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Entering the North Arm of Kootenay Lake, the river is a major tributary of the Kootenay River, which in turn flows into the Columbia River. The Selkirk Mountains lie to the west and the Purcell Mountains to the east.
The Incomappleux River is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Entering the Beaton Arm of Upper Arrow Lake, the river is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The upper reaches of the Incomappleux valley are home to some of the only inland temperate rainforest in the world.
The Salmo River is a tributary of the Pend d'Oreille River in the West Kootenay region of the Regional District of Central Kootenay in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The river is 60 km long and its source is 12 km south of Nelson in the Selkirk Mountains. The Salmo River is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, being a tributary of the Pend d'Oreille River, which flows into the Columbia River.
Corra Linn Dam is a concrete hydroelectric dam on the Kootenay River between the cities of Castlegar and Nelson, in the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia.
North Star was a sternwheel steamer that operated in western Montana and southeastern British Columbia on the Kootenay and Columbia rivers from 1897 to 1903. The vessel should not be confused with other steamers of the same name, some of which were similarly designed and operated in British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.
Marion was a small sternwheel steamboat that operated in several waterways in inland British Columbia from 1888 to 1901.
Francis Patrick Armstrong was a steamboat captain in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. He also operated steamboats on the Kootenay River in Montana and on the Stikine River in western British Columbia. Steam navigation in the Rocky Mountain Trench which runs through the East Kootenay region was closely linked to Armstrong's personality and career. In addition to being a steamboat captain, Armstrong was also a prospector, white-water boat pilot and guide in the Big Bend country of the Columbia River.
From 1886 to 1920, steamboats ran on the upper reaches of the Columbia and Kootenay in the Rocky Mountain Trench, in western North America. The circumstances of the rivers in the area, and the construction of transcontinental railways across the trench from east to west made steamboat navigation possible.
The Baillie-Grohman Canal was a shipping canal between the headwaters of the Columbia River and the upper Kootenay River in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia at a place now known as Canal Flats, BC. The construction of the canal was required by the provincial government of British Columbia as a condition of the canal's promoter receiving substantial land concessions from the provincial government of British Columbia in the area of Creston, BC. The promoter, William Adolf Baillie-Grohman (1851–1921), was a wealthy adventurer, hunter author, and business promoter. He declared the canal to be complete in 1889. The canal was an expensive failure, being used only three times during its entire existence. In 1902, on the last use by a vessel, the sternwheeler North Star, the sternwheeler's captain, Frank P. Armstrong deliberately blew out the canal's lower lock gates with dynamite to allow the transit of his vessel.
Wasa is an unincorporated community in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This place, on the east shore of the Kootenay River north of the mouth of Lewis Creek, surrounds Wasa Lake. The locality, on the merged section of highways 93 and 95, is by road about 36 kilometres (22 mi) north of Cranbrook and 211 kilometres (131 mi) southeast of Golden.
The White River is a major headwaters tributary of the Kootenay River in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The river is 65 kilometres (40 mi) long and drains an isolated area of the Canadian Rockies east of the village of Canal Flats.
The Kootenay Canal is a hydroelectric power station, located 19 km downstream of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. Where the Kootenay River flows out of the reservoir formed by the Corra Linn Dam on Kootenay Lake., a canal diverts water to BC Hydro's Kootenay Canal Generating Station. Its construction was a result of the Duncan Dam and Libby Dam providing year round flows into Kootenay Lake. The powerhouse was completed in 1976.
Foster Peak is a 3,204-metre (10,512-foot) mountain summit located on the western border of Kootenay National Park. It is the highest point in the Vermilion Range, a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Ball, 14.96 km (9.30 mi) to the northeast. The mountain is part of what is known as The Rockwall. Floe Lake, southeast of the peak, is one of the beauty spots of Kootenay National Park. The area is accessible via the Floe Lake Trail and Rockwall Trail. The Rockwall Trail is a scenic 55 kilometre traverse of alpine passes, subalpine meadows, hanging glaciers, and limestone cliffs, in some places in excess of 900 metres above the trail.