Sproat Lake Provincial Park is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to t ...

near Port Alberni 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's

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

. Its name derives from a lake named after 19th century entrepreneur and colonial official

Gilbert Malcolm Sproat Gilbert Malcolm Sproat (19 April 1834 – 4 June 1913) was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman, office holder, and author. Biography Born in Brighouse Farm Borgue near Kirkcudbright, Scotland, he arrived on Vancouver Island in 1860, where h ...

Petroglyphs

One of the park's most significant features is a panel of

petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

called "K’ak’awin" on lakeshore rocks depicting mythological figures. Though little is known of the origin of the prehistoric images, the area has been traditionally occupied by the

Hupacasath First Nation The Hupacasath First Nation is a First Nations government based in the Alberni Valley on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is ...

Park features

The 39-hectare park on Highway 4 is 15 kilometres west of Port Alberni and is a popular recreation area featuring swimming and boating in

Sproat Lake Sproat Lake is a lake on central Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was known as Kleecoot, meaning "wide open" by local indigenous people. Roughly cross-shaped with four arms, it is over 25 kilometres in length, and has 90.8 kilome ...

and camping. On the north shore of the lake, there is a popular boat launch, a small beach and 58 vehicle-accessible campsites in the park.Env.gov.bc.ca
/ref> The park is near the home base of Coulson Flying Tankers, which operates Martin Mars water bombers.

References

External links

*
Sproat Lake Provincial Park Official SiteMartin Mars - Coulson Flying Tankers
{{coord, 49, 17, 46, N, 124, 55, 36, W, source:frwiki_region:CA_scale:100000, display=title Alberni Valley Provincial parks of British Columbia Rock art in North America Petroglyphs in Canada Protected areas established in 1966 1966 establishments in British Columbia