Williston Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

created by the

W. A. C. Bennett Dam The W. A. C. Bennett Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Peace River in northern British Columbia, Canada. At high, it is one of the world's highest earth fill dams. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and culminated in 1968. At the dam ...

and is located in the

Northern Interior of British Columbia Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

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 ...

Geography

The lake fills the basin of the upper

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

, backing into the

Rocky Mountain Trench The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a s ...

which is where the Parsnip and Finlay met at

Finlay Forks Finlay Forks (also called Finlay Junction and sometimes misspelt Findlay), is the confluence of the Finlay River and Parsnip River. The Finlay Bay Recreation Site, on the southeast bank, is about southeast of the former settlement (on the earlier ...

to form the Peace. The lake includes three reaches, the Peace Reach (formerly the Peace Canyon), and the Parsnip and Finlay Reaches, which are the lowermost basins of those rivers, and covers a total area of , being the largest lake in British Columbia and the seventh largest reservoir (by volume) in the world. The reservoir is fed by the

Finlay Finlay is a masculine given name, and also a surname. The given name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Fionnlagh. Given name Finlay * Finlay Mickel, Scottish skier *Finlay Currie (1878–1968), Scottish actor * Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby pl ...

, Omineca, Ingenika, Ospika,

Parsnip The parsnip (''Pastinaca sativa'') is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is a biennial plant usually grown as an annual. Its long taproot has cream-colored skin an ...

, Manson,

Nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

and Nabesche Rivers and by Clearwater Creek, Carbon Creek, and other smaller creeks. Several

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 the ...

s are maintained on the shore of the lake, including

Muscovite Lakes Provincial Park Muscovite Lakes Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the western shore of Lake Williston, about north of Mackenzie Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (gi ...

Butler Ridge Provincial Park Butler Ridge Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the northern shore of the Peach Reach arm of Williston Lake, 20 km northwest of Hudson's Hope, the park covers an area of 6,694 ha. Within the Peace F ...

Heather-Dina Lakes Provincial Park Heather-Dina Lakes 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 ...

and

Ed Bird-Estella Provincial Park Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

Tributaries

The following rivers empty into the Williston Reservoir: *

Finlay River The Finlay River is a 402 km long river in north-central British Columbia flowing north and thence south from Thutade Lake in the Omineca Mountains to Williston Lake, the impounded waters of the Peace River formed by the completion of the W.A. ...

Omineca River Omineca River is a river of the North American boreal forest, in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows into the Williston Lake, and is part of the Peace River basin. It was originally a tributary of the Finlay River before the creation of ...

*Ingenika River *Ospika River *

Parsnip River The Parsnip River is a long river in central British Columbia, Canada. It flows generally north-westward from the Parsnip Glacier in the Hart Ranges to the Parsnip Reach of Williston Lake, formed by the impounding of the waters of the Peace Rive ...

*Manson River *Nation River *Clearwater Creek *Nabesche River *Carbon Creek

History

Williston Lake was created in 1968 by the building of the

on the

, which flooded the aboriginal-territorial home of the

Tsay Keh Dene First Nation The Tsay Keh Dene First Nation is one of the Sekani bands of the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Tsay Keh Dene means "People of the Mountain". While they have an office in the City of Prince George, their territories, settlements, and I ...

.Sekani Tribal Council
Carrier Chronology of Contact with Europeans-Euroamericans
Archived at th

Archive date 2006-11-18. The reservoir was named after the Honourable

Ray Gillis Williston Ray Gillis Williston (January 17, 1914 – December 7, 2006) was an educator and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Fort George in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1953 to 1972 as a Social Credit member. ...

, at the time the Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources.

References

External links

* BC Hydro
Williston Reservoir
* BC Hydro
Peace-Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
* Lakes of British Columbia Reservoirs in British Columbia Peace River Country Cassiar Land District {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub