Shuswap Lake Facts


Home	The Snow Melting Process	Runoff Report 1999

The Shuswap Lake Facts

The Shuswap Lake, located in the center of southern British Columbia, Canada, is a joint lake system consisting of

Shuswap Lake
Seymour Arm
Anstey Arm
Salmon Arm
Mara Lake.

Wide, open connections make it behave like a single unit. Surface level changes always apply to the whole lake system. Therefore, the name Shuswap Lake as used in this research always points the complete lake system as listed above.

Major streams leading into the Shuswap Lake:
Shuswap River	195.55 km. (121.5 mi.)	Mara Lake
Salmon River	146.30 km. (90.9 mi.)	Salmon Arm at Salmon Arm
Adams River	130.99 km. (81.4 mi.)	Shuswap Lake between Sorrento and Chase
Eagle River	75.92 km. (47.2 mi.)	Shuswap Lake at Sicamous
Seymour River	70.71 km. (43.9 mi.)	Seymour Arm
Scotch Creek	56.54 km. (35.1 mi.)	Shuswap Lake at Scotch Creek
Chase Creek	43.00 km. (26.7 mi.)	Shuswap Lake at Chase
Anstey River	30.07 km. (18.7 mi.)	Anstey Arm

Outlets of the Shuswap Lake:
South Thompson River	63.08 km. (39.2 mi.)	Shuswap Lake at Chase

Shuswap Lake System:

Shuswap Lake
Elevation	347 m.	1,138 ft.
Surface Area	30,959.55 ha. (309.596 sq.km.)	119.535 sq.mi.
Perimeter	341.829 km.	212.4 mi.
Mean Depth	61.5 m.	202 ft.
Maximum Depth	161.5 m.	530 ft.
Outlets	1
Permanent Inlets	34
Mara Lake
Elevation	347 m.	1,138 ft.
Surface Area	1,942.56 ha. (19.426 sq.km.)	7.5 sq.mi.
Perimeter	42.266 km.	26.3 mi.
Mean Depth	18.3 m.	60 ft.
Maximum Depth	45.7 m.	150 ft.
Little Shuswap Lake
Elevation	347 m.	1,138 ft.
Surface Area	1,813.06 ha. (18.131 sq.km.)	7.0 sq.mi.
Perimeter	21.166 km.	13.2 mi.
Mean Depth	14.3 m.	47 ft.
Maximum Depth	59.4 m.	195 ft.

Other Lakes Feeding Water into the Shuswap Lake:

Adams Lake
Elevation	408 m.	1,339 ft.
Surface Area	13,759.8 ha. (137.589 sq.km.)	53.127 sq.mi.
Perimeter	149.487 km.	92.9 mi.
Mean Depth	169.2 m.	555 ft.
Maximum Depth	457.2 m.	1,500 ft.
Mabel Lake
Elevation	395 m.	1,296 ft.
Surface Area	5,986 ha. (59.860 sq.km.)	23.112 sq.mi.
Perimeter	79.736 km.	49.5 mi.
Mean Depth	119.9 m.	393 ft.
Maximum Depth	200.6 m.	658 ft.
Sugar Lake
Elevation	606 m.	1,988 ft.
Surface Area	2,080 ha. (20.800 sq.km.)	8.031 sq.mi.
Perimeter	36.0 km.	22.4 mi.
Mean Depth	35.1 m.	115 ft.
Maximum Depth	82.6 m.	271 ft.

(Source: Watershed Dictionary, BC Ministry of Fisheries)

The Shuswap Lake is the center point of a large stream and lake network. Approximately 526 streams and lakes, covering a runoff area of about 25,000 square km, contribute their water into the Shuswap Lake. The South Thompson River, the only outlet of the Shuswap Lake system, carries the total intake about 500 km west through British Columbia where it is finally released into the Pacific Ocean near Vancouver.

The Shuswap Lake acts as buffer zone and regulator for the outflow. The amount of water released into the South Thompson River is regulated by the lake level itself. This allows very precise and reliable calculations about the water mass released downstream.

Three major inflows (Shuswap River, Eagle River and Salmon River) are located at the opposite end from the outflow. This causes a constant flow of water through the complete lake system based on the combined water mass of those streams.

The complete watershed behind the Shuswap Lake is a complicated but well-regulated network of streams and lakes. Many small and medium sized lakes act as buffer zones during the initial runoff before allowing a throughput of nearly 100%. Currently there are no data available to analyze certain behavior patterns or its relevance during the runoff and therefore will be a future project of this research.

The Sugar Lake is the only intentionally regulated watershed. The outflow, a continuum of the Shuswap River, is controlled by a dam and maintained by BC Hydro as power generator station.

Streams and lakes covered by this research:
(526 items, list not yet complete)

To view the full list, click here

Source: Watershed Dictionary, BC Ministry of Fisheries

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