| Stuart Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | British Columbia |
| Group | Nechako Lakes |
| Catchment area | 14600 km2 |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 66 km |
| Max. width | 10 km |
| Surface area | 358 km2 |
| Average depth | 26 m |
| Max. depth | 95 m |
| Water volume | 9.3 km3 |
| Shore length1 | 170 km |
| Surface elevation | 680 m |
| Settlements | Fort St. James |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Stuart Lake, or Nak'albun (IPA: [nakʼalpʌn]) in the Carrier (Dakelh) language is a lake situated in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The town of Fort St. James is situated by the lake near the outlet (Stuart River). Stuart Lake is 66 km long, 10 km wide and relatively shallow, with an average depth of 26 m.
Stuart Lake offers boating, swimming and sunbathing at sandy beaches, fishing, water skiing, viewing ancient aboriginal pictographs, camping, snowmobiling, ice fishing, ice sailing, and dog sledding Two provincial park campgrounds, Paarens Beach and Sowchea Bay, are located on the southern shore of the lake, and there are several motels, lodges and private campgrounds in the area. Moorage is available at several marinas.
Fort St. James has several lumber mills as do several smaller aboriginal communities in the basin. The lake is usually ice-covered from mid-December to mid-April. Stuart Lake contains rainbow trout, char or lake trout, and burbot fish.
Stuart Lake is important to British Columbia history, being the location of one of the oldest non-native settlements in the province, Fort St. James. The first non-native to visit the lake was James McDougall in 1806. McDougall's explorations were undertaken as an assistant to Simon Fraser. Fraser and other members of his expedition soon established a North West Company trading post, leaving behind for the winter a garrison led by clerk John Stuart, in whose honor the English name of the lake was given.
The original name, in the Dakelh language, is Nak'albun (IPA: [nakʼalpʌn]), literally Mt. Pope Lake, after the mountain that overlooks it, Nak'al (IPA: [nakʼal]), known in English as Mt. Pope.
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