Upper Campbell Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Upper Campbell Lake |
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 Upper Campbell Lake
Location in Vancouver Island
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| Coordinates | 49°54′59.4″N 125°39′42.3″W / 49.916500°N 125.661750°W |
| Primary inflows | Campbell River, Elk River |
| Primary outflows | Campbell River |
| First flooded | 1958 |
| Surface area | 2,978 ha (7,360 acres) |
| Average depth | 12.2 m (40 ft) |
| Max. depth | 39.6 m (130 ft) |
| Water volume | 84,110,400 m3 (2.97033×109 cu ft) |
| Shore length1 | 21.726 km (13.500 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 221 m (725 ft) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Upper Campbell Lake is a special lake on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is actually a "reservoir," which means it's a lake created by people. In 1958, the area was flooded to make this big lake. This flooding was done for a large project to create electricity using water power. The water level in the area went up by about 30 meters (almost 100 feet)!
Some smaller rivers and creeks, like Crest Creek and parts of the Heber River, flow into Upper Campbell Lake. A section of the lake and the land around it is located inside Strathcona Provincial Park. You can also find the Strathcona Park Lodge on the eastern side of the lake. If you like fishing, you might find Cutthroat trout, Rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden fish here.
Where is Upper Campbell Lake?
Upper Campbell Lake is located on Vancouver Island. It's about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the city of Campbell River. It's also about 46 kilometers (29 miles) east of the village of Gold River.
The main rivers that flow into Upper Campbell Lake are the Elk River. Other smaller creeks like Tlools, Filberg, Cervis, and Drum Creeks also feed into it. The only river that flows out of Upper Campbell Lake is the Campbell River. This river also starts nearby at Buttle Lake. The Campbell River flows a short distance from Upper Campbell Lake, past the Strathcona Dam, and then into Lower Campbell Lake. The area around Upper Campbell Lake is part of a forest region called the Coastal Western Hemlock Biogeoclimatic Zone.
How Upper Campbell Lake Was Formed
Upper Campbell Lake was created when the Strathcona Dam was built. Construction on the dam happened between 1955 and 1958. When the dam was finished, it "impounded" the water. This means it held the water back, causing the lake level to rise by 30 meters (about 100 feet). This rise in water level also caused Upper Campbell Lake to join with Buttle Lake.
The damming of the lake also made the Elk River, which flows into Upper Campbell Lake, much higher. This change unfortunately affected a large area where elk used to live. It also changed how the river worked naturally. Before the dam was built, Upper Campbell Lake was much smaller, with a surface area of about 625 hectares (1,540 acres). The flooding also removed about 65% of the places where sport fish used to lay their eggs in the smaller rivers that flow into the lake.
