Taseko Lakes

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Taseko Lakes
Taseko Lakes.jpg
Canada British Columbia relief location map.jpg
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Taseko Lakes
Location British Columbia
Coordinates 51°15′33″N123°35′26″W / 51.25917°N 123.59056°W / 51.25917; -123.59056
Primary inflows Taseko River, Lord River, Tchaikazan River
Primary outflows Taseko River
Basin  countriesCanada
Max. length25 km (16 mi)
Max. width1.8 km (1.1 mi)
Surface area17.56 km2 (6.78 sq mi)
Average depth43.3 m (142 ft)
Max. depth110.6 m (363 ft)
Water volume1.35 km3 (0.32 cu mi)
Surface elevation1,323 m (4,341 ft)
Islands None
SettlementsNone

The Taseko Lakes are a pair of lakes, Upper Taseko Lake [1] and Lower Taseko Lake, [2] which are expansions of the upper Taseko River in the southern Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. [3] Their name is based on the original in the Chilcotin language, Dasiqox Biny, where "Desiqox" means "Mosquito River" and is cognate to the name of the river as in English; the Chilcotin name refers to both lakes as one lake, which was also originally the case with the English usage until official designation of the separate lakes in 1954. The lakes are separated by the short Taseko Narrows, the name of which in Chilcotin is nanats'akash, and is an important crossing place for deer. The Tchaikazan River flows the area between the upper & lower lake from the southwest, while the Taseko River feeds it from the southeast, while the equally large Lord River joins it from the south, at the head of the lake.

Contents

History

The Taseko Lakes were proposed to be part of a massive hydroelectric development which would have seen the flow of the Taseko River dammed and diverted westward via a tunnel to Chilko Lake, which would have been also dammed and diverted through further tunnels to Tatlayoko Lake on the Homathko River, which unlike the Taseko and Chilko Rivers drains directly to the ocean at Bute Inlet rather than via the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers. Fisheries and aboriginal land claims concerns have derailed the Taseko diversion, although the Chilko diversion remains as a possibility.

The Taseko Lakes are now part of Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park, which also includes Chilko Lake and the intervening country, including Nemaiah Valley and Yohetta Valley, which form wide alpentals connecting the two lake valleys.

See also

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Gunn Valley is a valley in the southern Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, just west of the Taseko Lakes and, like them, running on a north–south axis and at a perpendicular angle to Yohetta Valley, which drains to it via Yohetta Creek but also connects through a low pass to Chilko Lake farther west. In Gunn Valley are Tuzcha and Fishem Lakes, which are fed and drained by Yohetta Creek, which joins the Tchaikazan River at the valley's southern end. Lastman Lake is at the valley's north end and is connected to the other lakes by a swampy pass, through which runs the access road to Yohetta Valley. There is an airstrip near the valley's southern end.

The Lord River is a tributary of the Taseko River in the southern Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, joining that river via the head of Upper Taseko Lake, which is also fed by the upper reaches of the Taseko River proper. The Lord River rises in the area of Lord Pass, which connects to the headwater area of the Bridge River immediately south.

References

  1. "Upper Taseko Lake". BC Geographical Names .
  2. "Lower Taseko Lake". BC Geographical Names .
  3. "Taseko Lakes". BC Geographical Names .

51°15′33″N123°35′26″W / 51.25917°N 123.59056°W / 51.25917; -123.59056