Kinbasket Lake

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Kinbasket Lake
Location	British Columbia
Coordinates	51°57′N 118°02′WCoordinates: 51°57′N 118°02′W
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Columbia River, Canoe River
Primary outflows	Columbia River
Basin countries	Canada

Kinbasket Lake (or Kinbasket Reservoir) is a reservoir on the Columbia River in southeast British Columbia, north of the town of Revelstoke and Golden. To the north it almost reaches the town of Valemount in an impoundment of the Canoe River. The lake includes two reaches, Columbia Reach and Canoe Reach, referring to the river valleys flooded by the dam.

The original, smaller Kinbasket Lake was named in 1866 after Kinbasket, a chief of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) native tribe. The modern, large lake was created after the completion of the Mica Dam in 1973, and was called McNaughton Lake (after Andrew McNaughton) until 1980.

A number of small communities were inundated by the creation of Kinbasket Lake, and comprised a region known as the Big Bend Country, a subregion of the Columbia Country. Among these towns were Mica, Big Bend, Downie, Boat Encampment and La Porte.

[edit] See also

• Columbia River Treaty

[edit] External links

• Place name history for Kinbasket Lake

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