Lajoie Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lajoie Lake |
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| Little Gun Lake | |
 Lajoie Lake
Location in British Columbia
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| Location | Bridge River Country, British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 50°50′00″N 122°54′00″W / 50.83333°N 122.90000°W |
| Primary outflows | Lajoie Creek |
| Basin countries | Canada |
Lajoie Lake, also known as Little Gun Lake, is a small lake in the Bridge River Country of British Columbia, Canada. It is located about three miles west of the community of Gold Bridge. The lake is also just southwest of Gun Lake, which is sometimes called Big Gun Lake.
Lajoie Lake and Gun Lake are often called the Gun Lakes together. Both lakes have been popular places for holidays and recreation since the 1920s. Lajoie Lake is about 3 square kilometers (1 square mile) in size. Water flows out of it into Lajoie Creek, which then goes into Big Gun Lake. From Big Gun Lake, the water flows into Gun Creek.
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About Lajoie Lake
The lake, Lajoie Creek, and the nearby Lajoie Dam are all named after a person. This person was "Lazack" Lajoie, a French-Canadian prospector. A prospector is someone who searches for valuable minerals like gold.
Lazack Lajoie was a very interesting person. He believed that the Gun Lakes area had a lot of gold. He also thought it could become a big city one day.
The Little Gun Lake Lodge
Lajoie Lake is home to the Little Gun Lake Lodge. This lodge is a large, fancy log cabin mansion. It was built by William G. "Big Bill" Davidson. He also built Minto City, another important place in the area.
The lodge was built to welcome important guests and investors. These guests were visiting the Bralorne-Pioneer Mines. These mines were about ten miles south of Gold Bridge.
A Place for Important Guests
To make it easy for guests to arrive, special arrangements were made. Planes that can land on water, called floatplanes, used the lake. There was also a helicopter landing spot built on the lodge's property.
The lodge property is the biggest private land around the lake. It even includes the lake itself. This made it a very exclusive place for visitors.
Famous Visitors
One famous person connected to Lajoie Lake was David Sloan. He was a mine promoter, meaning he helped get money for mines. A mountain nearby, Mount Sloan, is named after him. This mountain looks like the famous Matterhorn mountain.
David Sloan took his last flight from Lajoie Lake. Sadly, he died in a plane crash at Alta Lake. This lake is now part of the resort of Whistler.
Life at the Lake Today
For some time, the Little Gun Lake Lodge was a special private hotel. Now, it is a private home. Besides the lodge, there are other holiday homes around the lake.
The community around Lajoie Lake has a small number of people who live there all the time. About 30 people live there full-time.
