COLUMBIA LAKE EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

Geocaching HQ Admin: It has now been over 30 days since Geocaching HQ submitted the disabled log below and, unfortunately, the cache owner has not posted an Owner maintenance log and re-enabled this geocache. As a result, we are now archiving this cache page.

More information in the Help Center.

For locations where new EarthCaches may be permitted, please remember that any cache submission must meet all current EarthCache guidelines and expectations on the Geological Society of America web site and in the Help Center.

More
Hidden : 9/11/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Located at a rest stop off Highway 93/95 along the COLUMBIA LAKE. This is between Canal Flats and Fairmont Hot Springs.

Columbia Lake is the headwaters for the mighty Columbia River, starting in the south east corner of British Columbia and entering the Pacific Ocean near Astoria in Oregon. The Lake is situated between two massive mountain ranges; on the east the majestic Rocky Mountains and to the west the Purcell Range. The BC Geological Society suggests the main spring for the lake is in the middle of the lake but there are many other springs about that also contribute to the lake. All the wet lands on the south end are springs feeding the lake as well. The oddity to this lake is that it is formed solely by bubbling springs surfacing under hydrologic pressure from the aquifer as opposed to many bodies of water which are formed by creeks and rivers running into low depressions left by earth upheavals or carved by glaciers. The Upper Columbia Rivers’ last remaining undeveloped portion is a natural national world treasure of wetlands.
David Thompson was credited as the first European to visit this lake and he was amazed by its beauty. He was at first mystified by its origin as he could not see any “parent river” or “brooks” which usually create these massive lakes.
The River runs north for a considerable distance before finally reversing direction and eventually heading south. The lake disgorges a small amount of water creating a narrow creek which as it happens becomes a water hazard on a local golf course. The water course then flows into Lake Windermere and north along the east side of the Selkirk Range flowing many kilometres beyond Revelstoke BC until it crosses the range (called the Big Bend Pass) and then follows south along the west side of the Selkirks; all along the way collecting more water and increasing the flow into the Pacific.
This river had an immense salmon run before the Grand Coulee Dam destroyed the runs. Millions of salmon would toil and finally die in exhaustion after creating another generation . A Jesuit missionary described “...shoals of salmon in a state of exhaustion” spawned-out along the shores where the Columbia flows into Windermere Lake.
Ironically another incredible river, the Kootenay, flows south past Columbia Lake at a distance of about three kilometers. Its headwaters are high in the Rocky Mountain Range starting at the continental divide. The town of Canal Flats lies between these two water bodies. In 1889 an entrepreneur dug a canal between the two water sources. His intent was to have small steam ships pass through a single lock transporting goods between the two water systems. This was cancelled in 1894.

For credit with this cache please email us the answers to the following questions.
a. Estimate the width of the Columbia at the point of the above coordinates.
b. What “gradient” is needed to create a meandering waterway consisting of islands, sloughs and channels which becomes an excellent habitat for migrating birds?
c. What does the Provincial Government want you to do at this site and why?
d. A picture with your GPS at the site.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



Attributes

No attributes available

Advertising with Us