Mahood Lake
Encyclopedia
Mahood Lake is a lake
in the South Cariboo
region of the Interior of British Columbia
in Wells Gray Provincial Park
. It is drained by the Mahood River
, a tributary of the Clearwater River
which has cut a deep canyon into Cambrian rocks and Pleistocene glacial moraines. Mahood Lake is fed by the short Canim River
, which drains nearby Canim Lake
to the west via Canim Falls
and Mahood Falls
.
The lake is 629 metres in elevation, approximately 33.5 km² in area, 21 km (13 mi) in length (east to west) and a maximum of 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in width. Mount Mahood is immediately south of the lake and rises to 1812 m (5,945 ft).
in the Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific Ocean. Marcus Smith, the head of British Columbia surveys, was a strong advocate for the major Pacific railway terminus being at the head of Bute Inlet
, a fjord which penetrates the Coast Mountains some 225 km north of Vancouver. While examining his favoured route eastward from the inlet in September 1872, he spent a grueling few days traversing Mahood Lake’s rugged northern shore. His diary contains a gripping account of the hazards along this route and a declaration that "These last two days were the hardest I have had on the surveys, and we were in constant danger." His journey coincided with that of James Adam Mahood, who had been chosen by the C.P.R. in 1871 to head another survey party heading west to the Chilcotin
. By chance, on September 17, 1872, the two expeditions met near the mouth of Mahood Lake. Smith and Mahood spent a day together comparing notes and sketches that each had prepared.
Between 1872 and 1881, about 20 survey parties fanned out across British Columbia trying to find the best route for the new railway. The expeditions of Smith, Mahood and a third surveyor, Joseph Hunter
, all visited what is now Wells Gray Park. When the more southern Kicking Horse Pass was chosen instead in 1881, all of these meticulously examined routes across the Canadian Cordilleran were abandoned. Only three place names in the Park recognize those 10 wasted years of surveys: Mahood River & Lake, Marcus Falls, and Murtle River & Lake (Murtle refers to Joseph Hunter's birthplace in Scotland).
The Canim River is the major inflow. It is 8 km (5 mi) long, draining Canim Lake, and most of this distance is through a rugged gorge carved in lava. The river drops 142 m (466 ft) between the lakes, partly accounted for by two waterfalls, Canim Falls and Mahood Falls. The other major inflow is Deception Creek on the lake's north shore which has a 50 m (164 ft) high waterfall, Deception Falls.
The outflow from Mahood Lake is Mahood River. It is only 7 km (4.3 mi) long and drops over Sylvia Falls and Goodwin Falls before flowing into the Clearwater River.
#5 or 100 Mile House on the Cariboo Highway #97. Mahood Lake Campground has 34 campsites and is operated by the Wells Gray Park concessionaire. It has a sandy beach and a boat launching ramp. Mahood Lake Lodge was built here in 1939 by the McNeil family and was a popular fishing resort until it burned to the ground in 1962. The Mahood Lake Road ends 5 km (3.1 mi) past the campground at Deception Point which is one of only three private properties within Wells Gray Park.
There are four hiking trails near Mahood Lake Campground: Canim and Mahood Falls, Canim River, Whale Lake and Deception Falls. At the east end of Mahood Lake, there is a trail along the Mahood River past Sylvia and Goodwin Falls to the Clearwater River. Refer to Exploring Wells Gray Park for detailed descriptions and starting points.
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 the South Cariboo
Cariboo
The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...
region of the Interior of British Columbia
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
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...
. It is drained by the Mahood River
Mahood River
The Mahood River is a river in the northern Shuswap Highland of the Central Interior of British Columbia in Wells Gray Provincial Park. It is long from its source at Mahood Lake to its confluence with the Clearwater River, a tributary of the North Thompson River...
, a tributary 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...
which has cut a deep canyon into Cambrian rocks and Pleistocene glacial moraines. Mahood Lake is fed by the short Canim River
Canim River
The Canim River is a river in the South Cariboo region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It begins at the outlet of Canim Lake and runs approximately 1.8km to Canim Falls, the river then continues approximately 9 kilometres via a canyon cut into a lava plateau, to Mahood Lake."Canim"...
, which drains nearby Canim Lake
Canim Lake
Canim Lake can refer to:*Canim Lake , a lake in British Columbia, Canada*Canim Lake, British Columbia, a settlement in British Columbia, Canada*Canim Lake Band, a First Nation in British Columbia, Canada...
to the west via Canim Falls
Canim Falls
Canim Falls is a waterfall on the Canim River between Canim and Mahood Lakes in the Cariboo region of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately in height as measured in 1968 , and is cut into a lava plateau associated with the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field which...
and Mahood Falls
Mahood Falls
Mahood Falls is a waterfall in Wells Gray Provincial Park located on the Canim River between Canim Lake and Mahood Lake and northeast of 100 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada. The waterfall is high....
.
The lake is 629 metres in elevation, approximately 33.5 km² in area, 21 km (13 mi) in length (east to west) and a maximum of 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in width. Mount Mahood is immediately south of the lake and rises to 1812 m (5,945 ft).
Discovery and naming
There are no written records about First Nations visits to Mahood Lake, but they did use this valley because pictographs can be seen about halfway along the south shore. The Mahood Lake area was the centre of considerable attention between 1872 and 1874 when three separate groups of Canadian Pacific Railway surveyors passed along its shores. Their objective was to find a feasible route for the railway from Yellowhead PassYellowhead Pass
The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the border between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park....
in the Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific Ocean. Marcus Smith, the head of British Columbia surveys, was a strong advocate for the major Pacific railway terminus being at the head of 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...
, a fjord which penetrates the Coast Mountains some 225 km north of Vancouver. While examining his favoured route eastward from the inlet in September 1872, he spent a grueling few days traversing Mahood Lake’s rugged northern shore. His diary contains a gripping account of the hazards along this route and a declaration that "These last two days were the hardest I have had on the surveys, and we were in constant danger." His journey coincided with that of James Adam Mahood, who had been chosen by the C.P.R. in 1871 to head another survey party heading west to the Chilcotin
Chilcotin
Chilcotin, meaning "people of the red ochre river" may refer to:*The Tsilhqot'in , an Athabaskan First Nations people of British Columbia, Canada*Chilcotin language, the language spoken by the Tsilhqot’in...
. By chance, on September 17, 1872, the two expeditions met near the mouth of Mahood Lake. Smith and Mahood spent a day together comparing notes and sketches that each had prepared.
Between 1872 and 1881, about 20 survey parties fanned out across British Columbia trying to find the best route for the new railway. The expeditions of Smith, Mahood and a third surveyor, Joseph Hunter
Joseph Hunter (Canadian politician)
Joseph Hunter was a Scottish-born surveyor, civil engineer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Cariboo from 1871 to 1875 and from 1900 to 1904 and Comox from 1890 to 1898 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.He was born in Aberdeen and educated there, concluding his...
, all visited what is now Wells Gray Park. When the more southern Kicking Horse Pass was chosen instead in 1881, all of these meticulously examined routes across the Canadian Cordilleran were abandoned. Only three place names in the Park recognize those 10 wasted years of surveys: Mahood River & Lake, Marcus Falls, and Murtle River & Lake (Murtle refers to Joseph Hunter's birthplace in Scotland).
Geography
This deep valley was carved by glaciers, but there are remnants of lava flows north of the east end of the lake and along the Canim River upstream.The Canim River is the major inflow. It is 8 km (5 mi) long, draining Canim Lake, and most of this distance is through a rugged gorge carved in lava. The river drops 142 m (466 ft) between the lakes, partly accounted for by two waterfalls, Canim Falls and Mahood Falls. The other major inflow is Deception Creek on the lake's north shore which has a 50 m (164 ft) high waterfall, Deception Falls.
The outflow from Mahood Lake is Mahood River. It is only 7 km (4.3 mi) long and drops over Sylvia Falls and Goodwin Falls before flowing into the Clearwater River.
Access and trails
The only road access to Mahood Lake goes to the west end from either Little Fort on the Yellowhead HighwayYellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway is a major east-west highway connecting the four western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Although part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, the highway should not be confused with the more southerly, originally-designated...
#5 or 100 Mile House on the Cariboo Highway #97. Mahood Lake Campground has 34 campsites and is operated by the Wells Gray Park concessionaire. It has a sandy beach and a boat launching ramp. Mahood Lake Lodge was built here in 1939 by the McNeil family and was a popular fishing resort until it burned to the ground in 1962. The Mahood Lake Road ends 5 km (3.1 mi) past the campground at Deception Point which is one of only three private properties within Wells Gray Park.
There are four hiking trails near Mahood Lake Campground: Canim and Mahood Falls, Canim River, Whale Lake and Deception Falls. At the east end of Mahood Lake, there is a trail along the Mahood River past Sylvia and Goodwin Falls to the Clearwater River. Refer to Exploring Wells Gray Park for detailed descriptions and starting points.
See also
- Canim LakeCanim LakeCanim Lake can refer to:*Canim Lake , a lake in British Columbia, Canada*Canim Lake, British Columbia, a settlement in British Columbia, Canada*Canim Lake Band, a First Nation in British Columbia, Canada...
- Helmcken FallsHelmcken FallsHelmcken Falls is a waterfall on the Murtle River within Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The protection of Helmcken Falls was one of the reasons for the creation of Wells Gray Provincial Park in 1939....
- Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic fieldWells Gray-Clearwater volcanic fieldThe 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...
- Canadian Pacific Railway survey partiesCanadian Pacific SurveyThe Canadian Pacific Survey or Canadian Pacific Railway Survey consisted of a large number of distinct geographical surveys conducted during the 1870s and 1880s designed to determine the ideal route of the Canadian Pacific Railway...