Williston Lake

Williston Lake is a reservoir created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam and is located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada.

Williston Lake
Williston Lake
LocationBritish Columbia
Coordinates56°N 124°W
TypeReservoir
Primary inflowsPeace River
Primary outflowsPeace River
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length251 km (156 mi)
Max. width155 km (96 mi)
Surface area1,761 km2 (680 sq mi)[1]
Average depth42 m (138 ft)
Water volume74,000,000,000,000 litres (60,000,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation671 m (2,201 ft)[2]
(level varies by 18 m)
References[1][2]

Geography

The lake fills the basin of the upper Peace River, backing into the Rocky Mountain Trench which is where the Parsnip and Finlay met at Finlay Forks 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 1,761 km2 (680 sq mi),[1] being the largest lake in British Columbia and the seventh largest reservoir (by volume) in the world.

The reservoir is fed by the Finlay, Omineca, Ingenika, Ospika, Parsnip, Manson, Nation and Nabesche Rivers and by Clearwater Creek, Carbon Creek, and other smaller creeks.

Several provincial parks are maintained on the shore of the lake, including Muscovite Lakes Provincial Park, Butler Ridge Provincial Park, Heather-Dina Lakes Provincial Park and Ed Bird-Estella Provincial Park.

Tributaries

The following rivers empty into the Williston Reservoir:

History

Williston Lake was created in 1968 by the building of the W. A. C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River, which flooded the aboriginal-territorial home of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation.[3]

The reservoir was named after the Honourable Ray Gillis Williston, at the time the Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources.

Barge on Williston Lake

References
  1. Atlas of Canada. Lakes
  2. Statistics Canada. Lakes, elevation and area, by provinces and territories
  3. Sekani Tribal Council. Carrier Chronology of Contact with Europeans-Euroamericans Archived at the Wayback Machine. Archive date 2006-11-18.
  • BC Hydro. Williston Reservoir
  • BC Hydro. Peace-Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
  • "Williston Lake". BC Geographical Names.



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