Chilko Lake
Encyclopedia
Chilko Lake is a 180 km² lake
in west-central British Columbia
, at the head of the Chilko River
on the Chilcotin Plateau
. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the largest above 1,000 m. It and Harrison Lake
are the largest lakes in the southern Coast Mountains
.
on the other side of the Coast Mountains, Chilko Lake's glacial valley opens not out onto the ocean, but onto a broad lava plateau that lies inland from the highest section of the main range. The mountains at the head of the lake are among the highest in the province, and two broad, deep glacial valleys connect east to the smaller Taseko Lakes
, which drains northwards parallel to the Chilko River
, both of them converging with the Chilcotin River
which is a tributary of the Fraser
. Tatlayoko Lake
, to the west across another range, is not part of the Chilcotin-Fraser drainage, however, but is part of the Homathko River
drainage to Bute Inlet
.
The area spanning the head of Chilko Lake and Taseko Lake basins and the two valleys between the two lakes has been preserved as the Ts'il?os Provincial Park
, which is co-administered by the Parks Branch of the provincial government and by the Xeni Gwet'in
, who are the residents of Nemaia Valley and one of the component bands of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people
; Nemaia is the more northerly of the two east-west valleys, the southerly one is Yohetta Valley. Tsi'l?os is the Tsilhqot'in
name for Mount Tatlow
3,063 m (10,049 ft), which stands in the ranges between Chilko and Taseko Lakes. Higher still are the mountains at the head of Chilko Lake, crowned by 3,182 m (10,440 ft) Monmouth Mountain
, and to the southwest of the lake, between the two arms, is Mount Good Hope
3,242 m (10,636 ft), with the range rising west from there towards Mount Queen Bess
3,298 m (10,820 ft), to the south of Tatlayoko Lake and higher still beyond to Mount Waddington
.
of 1864 took place, and the Tsilhqot'in people who live here, the Xeni Gwet'in, are said to include descendants of Klatsassin, the main leader of the war. The vicinity of the lake is also the habitat of some of the last holdouts of the Chilcotin Country's
once-numerous herds of wild horses
, especially in the plateau-terrain area known as the Brittany Triangle area between the Chilko
and Taseko River
s, which is currently (2005) a subject of preservationist
vs resource industry controversy, though not as high profile as other regions of the province.
Projected hydroelectric plans to divert the Taseko Lakes into Chilko Lake, and the combined Chilko
and Taseko
flows into Tatlayoko Lake and via a series of dams down the Homathko River
, have been scrapped because of the provincial park status enjoyed by Chilko and Taseko Lakes. The area between Tatlayoko and Chilko Lakes is not protected, however, and plans for the dams and power plants in the canyon the Homathko River are still possible. One, the largest, would be built immediately atop the site of the first "battle" of the Chilcotin War, marked on government maps as "Murderer's Bar".
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in west-central British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, at the head of the Chilko River
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
on the Chilcotin Plateau
Chilcotin District
The Chilcotin District of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River....
. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the largest above 1,000 m. It and Harrison Lake
Harrison Lake
Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres in area. It is about 60 km in length and at its widest almost 9 km across. Its southern end, at the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs, is c. 95 km east of...
are the largest lakes in the southern Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
.
Geography
The inland equivalent of the many fjords which line the British Columbia CoastBritish Columbia Coast
The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....
on the other side of the Coast Mountains, Chilko Lake's glacial valley opens not out onto the ocean, but onto a broad lava plateau that lies inland from the highest section of the main range. The mountains at the head of the lake are among the highest in the province, and two broad, deep glacial valleys connect east to the smaller Taseko Lakes
Taseko Lakes
The Taseko Lakes are a pair of lakes, Upper Taseko Lake and Lower Taseko Lake, which are expansions of the upper Taseko River in the southern Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada...
, which drains northwards parallel to the Chilko River
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
, both of them converging with the Chilcotin River
Chilcotin River
The Chilcotin River is a long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia, Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains...
which is a tributary of the Fraser
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. Tatlayoko Lake
Tatlayoko Lake
Tatlayoko Lake is a lake on the Homathko River in the western Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located on a north-south axis just upstream of the entrance of the series of canyons of the Homathko, including the Great Canyon of the Homathko, on its route to the...
, to the west across another range, is not part of the Chilcotin-Fraser drainage, however, but is part of the Homathko River
Homathko River
The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...
drainage to Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...
.
The area spanning the head of Chilko Lake and Taseko Lake basins and the two valleys between the two lakes has been preserved as the Ts'il?os Provincial Park
Ts'il?os Provincial Park
Ts'il?os Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Ts'il?os is the official BC Parks designation for this provincial park, though sometimes it is written as "Ts'il-os", "Ts'yl-os", or "Tsylos"...
, which is co-administered by the Parks Branch of the provincial government and by the Xeni Gwet'in
Xeni Gwet'in
The Xeni Gwet'in, also known as the Stone Chilcotin, are a First Nations people whose traditional territory is located in the southern Chilcotin District of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the inland flank of the Coast Mountains west of the Fraser River...
, who are the residents of Nemaia Valley and one of the component bands of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
; Nemaia is the more northerly of the two east-west valleys, the southerly one is Yohetta Valley. Tsi'l?os is the Tsilhqot'in
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
name for Mount Tatlow
Mount Tatlow
Mount Tatlow is one of the principal summits of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia...
3,063 m (10,049 ft), which stands in the ranges between Chilko and Taseko Lakes. Higher still are the mountains at the head of Chilko Lake, crowned by 3,182 m (10,440 ft) Monmouth Mountain
Monmouth Mountain
Monmouth Mountain, commonly known as Mount Monmouth is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. At , it is the highest summit of the Chilcotin Ranges. It stands just north of the Lillooet Icecap between the heads of Chilko Lake and the...
, and to the southwest of the lake, between the two arms, is Mount Good Hope
Mount Good Hope
Officially Good Hope Mountain but commonly known as Mount Good Hope, this is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada...
3,242 m (10,636 ft), with the range rising west from there towards Mount Queen Bess
Mount Queen Bess
Mount Queen Bess is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. It stands west of Chilko Lake and to the south of Tatlayoko Lake, and crowns a peak-studded ridge to the north of the Homathko Icefield....
3,298 m (10,820 ft), to the south of Tatlayoko Lake and higher still beyond to Mount Waddington
Mount Waddington
Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the US border between Alaska and British Columbia are taller, Mount Waddington is the highest peak that lies...
.
History
The area around Chilko Lake was where some of the backwoods manoeuvrings and sit-outs of the Chilcotin WarChilcotin War
The Chilcotin War, Chilcotin Uprising or Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in people in British Columbia and white road construction workers...
of 1864 took place, and the Tsilhqot'in people who live here, the Xeni Gwet'in, are said to include descendants of Klatsassin, the main leader of the war. The vicinity of the lake is also the habitat of some of the last holdouts of the Chilcotin Country's
Chilcotin District
The Chilcotin District of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River....
once-numerous herds of wild horses
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
, especially in the plateau-terrain area known as the Brittany Triangle area between the Chilko
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
and Taseko River
Taseko River
The Taseko River , or Desiqox in the original Chilcotin, is a tributary of British Columbia's Chilko River, a tributary of the Chilcotin River which joins the Fraser near the city of Williams Lake....
s, which is currently (2005) a subject of preservationist
Preservationist
Preservationist is generally understood to mean historic preservationist: one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects or sites from demolition or degradation...
vs resource industry controversy, though not as high profile as other regions of the province.
Projected hydroelectric plans to divert the Taseko Lakes into Chilko Lake, and the combined Chilko
Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, connecting Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River....
and Taseko
Taseko River
The Taseko River , or Desiqox in the original Chilcotin, is a tributary of British Columbia's Chilko River, a tributary of the Chilcotin River which joins the Fraser near the city of Williams Lake....
flows into Tatlayoko Lake and via a series of dams down the Homathko River
Homathko River
The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...
, have been scrapped because of the provincial park status enjoyed by Chilko and Taseko Lakes. The area between Tatlayoko and Chilko Lakes is not protected, however, and plans for the dams and power plants in the canyon the Homathko River are still possible. One, the largest, would be built immediately atop the site of the first "battle" of the Chilcotin War, marked on government maps as "Murderer's Bar".