Barrier Lake is a man made

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

at the north end of

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Highway 40 runs between the lake and Mount Baldy, on the eastern shore. It is entirely located in the

Bow Valley Provincial Park Bow Valley Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada. Established in 1959 in the arch of the Bow River at its confluence with the Kananaskis River, the park is one park of many within the Kananaskis Country park system. This park i ...

. Barrier Lake was created for hydroelectric power generation on the

Kananaskis River The Kananaskis River is a mountain river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a tributary of the Bow River, crossing the length of Kananaskis Country. The river was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree. Course The Kananaskis originates in th ...

. The dam that impounds the lake is at the north end of the lake. The lake is also used for recreational activities, with

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

paths surrounding the lake (and

cross-country ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

ing trails in the winter). A visitor centre is located on the eastern shore.Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre
- from

Alberta Community Development The Ministry of Culture of Alberta, commonly called Alberta Culture, is a ministry of the Executive Council of the Government of Alberta. It the legal continuation of a ministry that has had many names since its creation in 1992, most recently ...

Two day-use areas, Barrier Dam and Barrier Lake, are maintained by

Alberta Parks Alberta Parks is an agency of the Government of Alberta which is responsible for managing Alberta's provincial parks and protected areas. History Alberta's system of provincial parks began with the striking of a committee on parks by then Premier ...

. The Jewell Bay Backcountry Campground is established from the dam.

Water-skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

is permitted on the lake, but is rarely done due to the low temperatures of the water. Barrier Lake was used in the 2003 film '' X2: X-Men United'' as the stand in for Alkali Lake and in

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

(CBC) as Eagle Lake (2011).

References

Lakes of Alberta Kananaskis Improvement District Reservoirs in Alberta {{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub