Kennedy Lake is the largest

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 ...

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 ...

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. Located north of

Ucluelet Ucluelet (, also Ukee) is a district municipality (population 1,717) on the Ucluelet Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ucluelet means "people of the safe harbour" in the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth (No ...

on the island's central west coast, the lake is formed chiefly by the confluence of the Clayoquot and Kennedy Rivers. Outflow is via a short stretch of the Kennedy River into

Tofino Inlet Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Peninsu ...

. The lake includes an extensive northern arm called Clayoquot Arm. The lake and surrounding region's natural beauty has led to portions of it being protected from the logging industry. Parks adjacent to the lake include

Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the west side of the Kennedy River, to the northeast of the town of Tofino. The park was established in 1995, comprising . Its boundaries were re ...

Pacific Rim National Park Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a national park located in British Columbia, Canada, which comprises three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. Its the Pacific Coast Mountains, are characterized ...

Clayoquot Arm Provincial Park Clayoquot Arm Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. See also * Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park *Clayoquot Sound , image = Clayoquot Sound - Near Tofino - Vancouver Island BC - Canada - 08.jpg , ima ...

, Kennedy Lake Provincial Park,

Kennedy River Bog Provincial Park Kennedy River Bog Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the south side of the Kennedy River, downstream from Kennedy Lake (Vancouver Island), Kennedy Lake. See also *Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve Refere ...

and the Clayoquot Arm Beach recreation site. The lake is a popular recreation destination for camping, boating and fishing. It is an important

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

habitat for

sockeye The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

and various species of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

, and lies within the Coastal Western Hemlock Biogeoclimatic Zone. The lake is part of the ancestral lands of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, and is named for the last governor of the

Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia ...

, Sir Arthur Kennedy.

Geography

Kennedy Lake has a surface area of , making it the largest lake on Vancouver Island. It has an irregular shape made up of two basins, referred to as the Main Arm and the Clayoquot Arm, connected by a narrow sill. While the mean depth of the lake is , the sill dividing the two arms is less than depth, while the deepest part of the lake reaches . The lake is situated at above sea level.

British Columbia Highway 4 Highway 4 is the longest east–west main vehicle route on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, with a total length of . It is known locally as the ''Alberni Highway'' to the east of Port Alberni and the ''Pacific Rim Highway'' to ...

winds along the south-east and southern side of the lake, the only highway accessing the communities of

and

Tofino Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Peninsu ...

References

External links

Kennedy Lake Provincial Park

* {{British Columbia hydrography Barkley Sound region Clayoquot Sound region Lakes of Vancouver Island Clayoquot Land District