Columbia Lake is the primary

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

at the headwaters of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

, in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 ...

. It is fed by several small tributaries. The village of

Canal Flats 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 Highw ...

is located at the south end of the lake. Columbia Lake is a fresh water

located along Highway 93 and 95, between the centres of

and Fairmont Hot Springs in

. 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 , to a maximum of , with excellent water clarity as it enjoys a much smaller volume of boat traffic than its northern neighbour, Windermere Lake. The

Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in 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 l ...

, a major tributary of the Columbia, passes within a few thousand feet of the south end of the lake. In

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a spring thaw resulting from snow and ice melt in rivers located in upper North America. A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting in significant in ...

s the Kootenay, here already a large stream, sometimes overflows into Columbia Lake, and historically the

Baillie-Grohman Canal 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 r ...

connected the two bodies of water to facilitate the navigation of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s (although only three trips were ever made through it).

References

External links

Website of the Columbia Lake Parks
Columbia River Lakes of British Columbia Columbia Valley Kootenay Land District {{EastKootenay-geo-stub