Lake Revelstoke or Revelstoke Lake or Revelstoke Lake Reservoir is an artificial

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 ...

on 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 ...

, north of the town of Revelstoke,

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, ...

and south of Mica Creek. This lake is the reservoir formed by the

Revelstoke Dam The Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon Dam, is a hydroelectric dam (combined earthfill dam and gravity dam) spanning the Columbia River, north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. The powerhouse was completed in 1984 and has ...

, which during its construction was also known as the Revelstoke Canyon Dam, inundating the Columbia's canyon in this area and the historic

Dalles des Morts Dalles des Morts, also known as Death Rapids in English, was a famously violent stretch of the Columbia River upstream from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, now submerged beneath the waters of the Lake Revelstoke Reservoir. Despite the name, t ...

(Death Rapids) and some of the former gold diggings of the

Big Bend Gold Rush The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Big Bend Country of the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866), Colony of British Columbia (now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s. History Discovery & early miners In 1861, the gold commissioner a ...

. The dam's site is at what had been the head of river navigation by steamboat from

Northport, Washington Northport is a town in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 295 at the 2010 census. History Northport began when railroad builder Daniel C. Corbin had agents purchase two wooded benches overlooking the Columbia River f ...

via the

Arrow Lakes The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Bea ...

. The lakes extends upstream to the

tailrace A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

Mica Dam Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operate ...

. Three-quarters of the flow through the Revelstoke Dam Powerhouse is regulated water release from Mica Dam, with the result that the reservoir regularly fluctuates by up to .

References

*
Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre
at BCHydro.com Columbia River Revelstoke Revelstoke Revelstoke, British Columbia Kootenay Land District {{ColumbiaShuswap-geo-stub