Wahleach Lake, commonly known as Jones Lake, is a
lake and
reservoir located in the
Skagit Range in the
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...
of
British Columbia,
Canada, east of the city of
Chilliwack and southwest of the town of
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
.
The lake, which was a resting place for
Sto:lo people on their way to summer hunting grounds, was expanded by an earthfill dam and is now 6.4 km long and 1 km wide. At over 600 m above the level of the Fraser River, nearly all of its volume is diverted through the side of a flank of
Mount Cheam
Cheam Peak or Mount Cheam (pronounced and in English, in Halqemeylem, the local indigenous language, referring to the lowland below. The Halqemeylem name for the mountain is Lhílheqey – ''Theeth-uhl-kay'' – from the word ''Lhelqey'' – "g ...
, part of the
Four Brothers Range, to the
Wahleach Powerhouse which stands beside the
Trans-Canada Highway east of
Bridal Falls. When the Wahleach development was completed in 1952 it produced 14% of the power for the
BC Electric Company, a predecessor to
BC Hydro and a subsidiary of the
British Columbia Electric Railway Company. As of 2008, it produces less than 1% of BC Hydro's generating capacity but is ranked as one of the company's most efficient operations. In addition to a private-run recreational cabin operation, there are three campgrounds operated by BC Hydro as part of its recreation areas program, with approximately 60 campsites in three different campgrounds.
Name
The name Jones Lake first appeared on a map in 1904 and is the main name used locally, as well as appearing on the highway signs for the Jones Lake Forest Service Road, which is the only access. The dual naming also applies to Wahleach Creek, which is also known as Jones Creek.
The name Wahleach, which also occurs as the name of an island and associated
Indian reserve on the other side of the Fraser, and as Waleach as a railway point on the
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
on
Sea Bird Island, is that of a Sto:lo resident from
Union Bar
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''U ...
, near Hope, whose anglicized and baptized name was Camille Walecia but whose name in
Halq'eméylem is spelled "Xwelích", meaning "crossing a neck of land between two bodies of water"
.e. portage
References
*
*
*
BC Hydro Jones Lake Recreation Area webpage
Lakes of the Lower Mainland
Reservoirs in British Columbia
Canadian Cascades
Yale Division Yale Land District
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