Kamloops Lake

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Kamloops Lake
(May 2006)
Location	British Columbia
Coordinates	50°45′N 120°40′W / 50.75, -120.667Coordinates: 50°45′N 120°40′W / 50.75, -120.667
Primary inflows	Thompson River
Primary outflows	Thompson River
Catchment area	39,050 km² (15,077 sq mi)
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	29 km (18 mi)
Max. width	1.6 km (1 mi)
Surface area	52 km² (20 sq mi)
Average depth	71 m (233 ft)
Max. depth	152 m (499 ft)
Water volume	3.7 km³
Residence time (of lake water)	ca. 0.2 years (20-340 days)
Shore length¹	60.5 km (38 mi)
Surface elevation	365 m (1,198 ft)
Settlements	Savona
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Basin of the Thompson River

Kamloops Lake in British Columbia, Canada is situated on the Thompson River just west of Kamloops. The lake is 1.6 km wide, 29 km long, and up to 152 m deep. The community of Savona is located at the west end of the lake, with the city of Kamloops located a few miles east of the head of the lake at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers.

The lake is bounded on all sides by steep embankments with level areas only near creek deltas and around the inlet and outlet. The surrounding land is mostly uninhabited and within the dry belt interior grasslands composed of bunchgrass and sagebrush with pockets of Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine and spruce. The lake appears to be a widening and deepening of the Thompson River which enters at the east end and exits at the west end. The limnology of the lake is controlled by the Thompson River which has large fluctuations in annual flow with over 60% occurring in the early summer during freshet (May to July).

Bulk residence times are very short (the time it takes for the water in the lake to be replaced with new water), ranging from 20 days to 340 days with a mean of 60 days. The water of Kamloops Lake meets or exceeds Canadian Drinking Water Standards. Because Kamloops lake is fed by both the North Thompson River and the South Thompson River (the South Thompson River drains from the very warm Shuswap Lakes), Kamloops Lake is a very warm lake.