Nanaimo Lakes are a chain of four lakes composed of three natural—First, Second, and Third Lakes—and one man-made, dammed lake,
Fourth Lake, on the upper
Nanaimo River
The Nanaimo River is a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located near the city of Nanaimo on the island's east coast. Its headwaters are in the Vancouver Island Ranges of central Vancouver Island and its mouth, the Nanaimo ...
, on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
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.
Geography
The lakes are in a highland transitional area between the southern
Vancouver Island Ranges
The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of mountain ranges extending along the length of Vancouver Island which has an area of . The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part ...
and the
Nanaimo Lowland
Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...
.
The 1:50,000
topographic map
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...
quadrangle , published by
Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the depa ...
, is centred on the lakes.
[Map 092F01, "Nanaimo Lakes"]
digital raster, published by Natural Resources Canada, 7th edition, March 24, 2011; accessed via ftp 2018-07-10 Note that lake names do not appear on all online mapping services, and Third Lake, not listed by the Watershed Roundtable, but listed in a 1919 guide, and on the Natural Resources Canada map, may not appear on some maps at all. A lake with a dam at the north end, named "Fourth Lake", is also shown on the map. First Lake and Second Lake, at 210 metres above sea level,
[ are connected by a short stream. Fourth Lake Dam is privately owned and impounds of water, used for a paper mill.
*First Lake ,][ natural, about long
*Second Lake ,][ natural, about long
*Third Lake , natural, much smaller than the others
*Fourth Lake , a reservoir, about long and 2 km2 in area]
Parks and recreation
Timberwest owns has four campsites on private land surrounding First Lake. The lake was stocked with up to 30,000 salmon or trout per year for recreational fishing beginning in 1905 through the early 21st century.[
]
Nanaimo Lakes fire balloon
In March, 1945, a Fu-Go balloon bomb
was an deployed by Japan against the United States during World War II. A hydrogen balloon measuring in diameter, it carried a payload of two incendiary devices plus one anti-personnel bomb (or alternatively one incendiary bomb), and was ...
made in Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...
and launched from Japan landed at the lakes. Its firing circuits malfunctioned; it failed to detonate and was recovered and analyzed by a Canadian–American intelligence effort.
See also
*List of lakes of British Columbia
This is an incomplete list of lakes of British Columbia, a province of Canada.
Larger lake statistics
*
List of lakes
1
* 101 Mile Lake
* 103 Mile Lake
* 105 Mile Lake
* 108 Mile Lake
A
* Adams Lake
* Alouette Lake
* Alta Lake ( ...
References
Sources
* Unpublished report prepared for the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust. 312 pp.
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External links
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Further reading
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{{Authority control
Lakes of Vancouver Island
Mid Vancouver Island
Nanaimo
Dunsmuir Land District