Powell Lake
| Powell Lake | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Powell Lake and the city of Powell River | |
  Powell Lake | |
| Location | Sunshine Coast, British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 50°05′00″N 124°25′00″W / 50.08333°N 124.41667°W |
| Type | fjord lake, meromictic, reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Powell River, Eldred River and Olsen Creek |
| Primary outflows | Powell River |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 50 km (31 mi) |
| Surface area | 120 km2 (46 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 150 m (490 ft) |
| Max. depth | 360 m (1,180 ft) |
| Water volume | 18 km3 (4.3 cu mi) |
| Surface elevation | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Islands | Goat Island |
| Settlements | Powell River |
Powell Lake is a lake in the northern Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to the city of Powell River, which sits on the low rise of land forming a natural dam between the lake and the Strait of Georgia at 46 metres above sea level. The lake flows to the ocean through Powell River and features Goat Island, a large mountainous island. It serves as a reservoir for a small hydroelectric generating station which was built to serve the city's paper mill; and also as a water supply for that paper mill. Construction of the hydroelectric dam began in 1910, and in 1924 the lake's water level was raised to 56 metres above sea level.[1]
The lake consists of six interconnected basins, two of which are meromictic, containing trapped salt water in the bottom 50 metres of the water column.[2] Approximately 11,000 years ago, due to post-glacial rebound, the bedrock sill at the mouth of the fjord began to rise, isolating the basin from the Strait of Georgia.[3]
Name origin
The ʔayʔaǰuθəm (ey-ajoothum) name for the lake is θaʔyɛɬ (tha-yelh), meaning "freshwater lake."[4] The English namesake is believed to be Dr. Israel Wood Powell, who is also believed to be the namesake for the nearby Powell River and city of Powell River.[5] The city has recognized Dr. Powell as the namesake for the city and nearby geographic features since at least 1946, when Dr. Powell's daughters presented a portrait of their father to one of the local high schools.[6]
Indigenous history
The Tla’amin people lived near the mouth of the lake in a village called tiskwat, prior to European settlement.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Sévigny, Joëlle (December 2022). "Water: the reason the mill was built here". qathet Living..
- ^ Haas, Sebastian (August 13, 2019). "Unraveling the Geomicrobiology of Powell Lake". CERC.OCEAN.
- ^ Perry, Karen Anne (1990). The chemical limnology of two meromictic lakes with emphasis on pyrite formation (PhD thesis). University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0053308.
- ^ "Place Names". qathet Museum and Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ "Powell Lake". BC Geographical Names. BC Geographical Names Office. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ "Community History". qathet Museum and Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ Smith, Andrea (26 Nov 2021). "Powell River Wrestles with Changing Its Colonial Name". The Tyee. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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