Clearwater Lake is one of six large lakes in Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres...

, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is an expansion of the Clearwater River

Clearwater River (British Columbia)

The Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the North Thompson River, joining it at the community of Clearwater, British Columbia. The Clearwater rises from glaciers in the Cariboo Mountains and flows in a mostly southerly direction for to the North Thompson. Its entire course, except the...

, downstream from Hobson Lake

Hobson Lake

Hobson Lake is the uppermost lake on the Clearwater River in east-central British Columbia, Canada. Hobson Lake is one of the six major lakes in Wells Gray Provincial Park....

.

Formation

The basin occupied by Clearwater Lake was scoured by glaciers during several ice ages, including the Wisconsin Ice Age which ended in this region about 10,000 years ago. The basin subsequently filled with meltwater and, today, the greatest depth is 600 m (1,969 ft) near Diver's Bluff. When Dragon Cone

Dragon Cone

Dragon Cone is a monogenetic cinder cone located in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia. It is the source of a long lava flow, called Dragon's Tongue. This lava covered the floor of narrow Falls Creek Valley and terminated at the Clearwater River, damming it to a height of ...

 erupted about 7,560 years ago, the lava flowed 15 km (9 mi) southwest to the Clearwater River, damming it to a height of 3 m (10 ft) and raising the level of existing Clearwater Lake just upstream. This flow is just one example of volcanic activity that has occurred in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field

Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field

The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately north of Kamloops. It is situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains and on the...

 during the last 500,000 years.

Osprey Falls occurs where the Clearwater River empties out of Clearwater Lake. The waterfall is the height of the lava dam, but is over 500 m (1,640 ft) wide along an L-shaped brink. Osprey Falls is very hazardous to boaters on Clearwater Lake because of the strong current in the southern 3 km (1.9 mi). Up to 2003, 18 people had been swept over Osprey Falls and only three survived.

Access and trails

The Clearwater Valley Road (also called Wells Gray Park Road) ends at Clearwater Lake. Wells Gray Park's largest campgrounds, Clearwater Lake and Falls Creek, are adjacent to Osprey Falls and have 80 sites total. Lake tours and a water taxi service operate from near the campgrounds. The public boat launching ramp is 3 km (1.9 mi) further up the lake.

A trail follows the lakeshore from the water taxi dock to the public boat launch. It continues for 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi), then climbs away from the lake to a viewpoint above the Easter Bluffs.

At the north end of Clearwater Lake, a portage trail provides access for canoeists and kayakers to nearby Azure Lake

Azure Lake

Azure Lake is a fjord-like lake located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is an expansion of the Azure River which rises from an unnamed glacier in the Cariboo Mountains. The outflow is also called the Azure River, but it is only long before it flows into the Clearwater River...

. The Hobson Lake

Hobson Lake

Hobson Lake is the uppermost lake on the Clearwater River in east-central British Columbia, Canada. Hobson Lake is one of the six major lakes in Wells Gray Provincial Park....

 trail also starts here and is 13 km (8.1 mi) long.

Some older maps show a trail to Azure and Zodiak Mountains from the east shore of Clearwater Lake, but this trail is no longer passable.

Seven campgrounds with a few sites at each are located along the east and west shores of Clearwater Lake. The only access is by boat.

Naming

The Overlanders expedition to the Cariboo goldfields rafted down the North Thompson River in 1862. When they arrived at the mouth of the Clearwater River, they noted its distinct clarity compared to the muddy North Thompson and named it Clear Water. The lake was probably discovered by white prospectors in 1866 and the river's name was extended to the lake.

External links

• Wells Gray Provincial Park official government website