Adams Lake is a large, deep, coldwater

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 ...

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 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 ...

; its average depth ranks 6th in the world. The southern end of the lake is approximately north of the town of Chase in the Shuswap Country region of British Columbia. The lake's upper reaches lie in the northern

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...

, while its lower end penetrates the Shuswap Highland. The lake supports Chinook, Sockeye and

Coho The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...

salmon, Kokanee,

mountain whitefish The mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni'') is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territories, Canada south through western Canada and ...

and rainbow trout.

Geography

The lake is long and between and wide. The surface elevation is above sea level. The lake is very deep; with a mean depth of and maximum depth of it is the second deepest lake in British Columbia (next to

Quesnel Lake Quesnel Lake is a glacial lake or fjord in British Columbia, Canada, and is the major tributary of the Fraser River. With a maximum depth of , it is claimed to be the deepest fjord lake in the world, the deepest lake in BC, and the third-deepest ...

, which has a maximum depth of ) and 6th deepest lake in the world by mean depth. Water flows into the lake though many tributaries (most notably the Upper Adams River, , and Bush Creek). The water drains from the lake as the Lower Adams River which is home to a very large and famous sockeye salmon run which attracts many visitors to the region each year. From there the water flows into

Shuswap Lake Shuswap Lake (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, ...

, and down the

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The ri ...

. Though a few villages exist along Adams Lake, the vast majority of the lake is undeveloped. The lack of development is partially due to the nature of the shoreline, which is mostly sheer rock faces or steep, stony beaches. Few recreationally suitable beaches exist naturally on the lake, though some man-made sandy beaches have been created for public use, for example at

Adams Lake Provincial Park Adams Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses three distinct parks: Adams Lake ( Bush Creek Site) Provincial Park, Adams Lake Marine Provincial Park (Poplar Point Site), and Adams Lake Marine Provinc ...

History

Chief Adam (sometimes spelled Atahm) was a prominent Secwepemc chief in the mid-nineteenth century. By most accounts, the lake is named after him. Adam died in the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic, which, according to

James Teit James Alexander Teit (15 April 1864 — 30 October 1922) was an anthropologist, photographer and guide who worked with Franz Boas to study Interior Salish First Nations peoples in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He led expeditions throug ...

, killed over half the local Secwepemc population. Adams Lake has been the site of two Secwepemc blockades, one in solidarity with the

Kanesatake Kanesatake (''Kanehsatà:ke'' in Mohawk) is a Mohawk (''Kanien'kéha:ka'' in Mohawk) settlement on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence rivers and about west of ...

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

in 1990, and the other in the summer of 1995, to prevent the development of a 60-unit recreational vehicle park on a Secwepemc burial ground. Sternwheeler Helen Adams Lake

The only bridge across the lake was burned down in the 1995 blockade. A permanent inland ferry service to the eastern side of the lake was later established. The north end of Adams Lake is called Mumix in the Shuswap language.

Forestry

Forestry forms the economic base for the region. Unpaved logging roads, the only land access, run the full length of the lake. A sawmill operates at the south end of the lake. The logs for the sawmill are harvested further up the lake and deposited into the water near the Momich River by a large crane. They are then floated down the lake to the mill in

log boom A log boom (sometimes called a log fence or log bag) is a barrier placed in a river, designed to collect and or contain floating logs timbered from nearby forests. The term is also used as a place where logs were collected into booms, as at the ...

s drawn by

tug boat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

s. These log booms often wait anchored at lakeside.

Recreation

Adams Lake is used for recreation year round. Sport anglers commonly fish the lake for rainbow trout,

Kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not migrat ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

, and bull trout. The lake is also used for swimming, pleasure boating and water skiing. The area around the lake is popular with campers and is home to a large variety of flora and fauna. During the autumn and winter people hunt for game birds and big game such as

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

, and cougar (mountain lion).

Climate

*''Average Hours of Sunshine'': 2,000+ per year *''Average Rainfall'': 304.7 mm (11 in) annually *''Average Snowfall'': 139.8 cm (55 in) in the valleys. Up to 644 cm (253.5 in) on the mountains *''Frost Free Days'': 120–175 days annually Average maximum temperature (summer): 28.4 °C (84 °F) Average minimum temperature (winter): -8.8 °C (16 °F)

References

External links

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
{{authority control Lakes of British Columbia Shuswap Country Kamloops Division Yale Land District