Lower Arrow Lake
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The Arrow Lakes in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
. The lakes are situated between the
Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...
to the east and the
Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The hig ...
to the west. Beachland is fairly rare and is interspersed with rocky headlands and steep cliffs. Mountain sides are heavily forested, and rise sharply to elevations around . Originally two lakes apart, the Arrow Lakes became one lake due to the reservoir created by the 1960s construction of the
Keenleyside Dam Hugh Keenleyside Dam (formerly known as the High Arrow Dam) is a flood control dam spanning the Columbia River, 12 km (6.5 miles) upstream of the city of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. Dam The dam is at the outflow of what was the u ...
; at low water the two lakes remain distinct, connected by a fast-moving section known as the Narrows. Damming the Lower Arrow Lake resulted in water rising above natural levels. As a result of higher water, the valley lost two-thirds of its arable land. Approximately two thousand people were relocated. The lake stretches from just north of Castlegar in the south to Revelstoke in the north. Another hydroelectric development
Whatshan Dam Whatshan Dam was built by the B.C. Power Commission and completed in 1952. It is a concrete hydroelectric dam on the Whatshan River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Whatshan powerhouse has undergone three major transformations s ...
, diverted Whatshan Lake from the Whatshan River directly into the Arrow Lakes, just north of the Needles-Fauquier Ferry. The Arrow Lakes are part of the traditional territory claims of the
Sinixt The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (; also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senijextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or—less commonly in recent decades—simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are d ...
,
Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...
and
Ktunaxa The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, norther ...
peoples, though at the time of contact and during colonization only Sinixt lived along its shores.


Crossings

There are three ferries: *
Upper Arrow Lake Ferry The Upper Arrow Lake Ferry is a ferry across Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Linking Shelter Bay, British Columbia, Shelter Bay and Galena Bay, British Columbia, Galena Bay, the ferry, part of British ...
between Shelter Bay and
Galena Bay :''Not the Galena Bay on Kootenay Lake at Riondel '' Galena Bay is an unincorporated locality, on the bay of the same name, at the head of Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The Sinix't Nation, or Lak ...
at the northern end of Upper Arrow Lake, on BC Hwy 23. *
Needles Cable Ferry The Needles Ferry is a cable ferry across Lower Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Linking Needles and Fauquier, the ferry, part of BC Highway 6, is by road about southeast of Vernon and southwest of ...
further south, on BC Hwy 6 between
Nakusp The Village of Nakusp () is located south of the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its nearb ...
and Vernon. *
Arrow Park Ferry An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers call ...
, a
cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
connecting
East Arrow Park East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...
and
West Arrow Park West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
about 28 km south of Nakusp. The nearest bridges are upstream of the lakes at Revelstoke and downstream of the lakes at Castlegar.


Name origin

The name Arrow Lakes, though in wide use, is unofficial; the gazetted names are for Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, and BC Hydro refers to them together as the Arrow Lakes Reservoir. The origin of the name was a cultural feature known as Arrow Rock on the east shore of Lower Arrow Lake, about 35 km upstream from Castlegar, opposite the community of
Renata Renata is a feminine given name of European origin, and a New Zealand surname. The name is of Latin origin of Renatus. The cognate names include Renée and Renate. Notable people with the given name Renata include: * Renata Adler (born 1938 ...
, a large rock outcrop or overhang above the water, in the face of which was a hole filled with arrows. Different stories surround the meaning of the arrows, said to be shot there by the Lakes people (Sinixt) for good luck, either before or after war:
On October 19, 1826, while travelling south between Upper and Lower Arrow Lakes, Simpson passed "...The Arrow Rock, so named on account of a round hole in the face full of Arrows, said to have been fired at it by the Indians when practicing the Bow and Arrow before a war excursion." (Journal of Emilius Simpson; HBC Archives' accession B223/a/3 1826 Folio 39D-41) Source: included with note In the days before Columbus was born, the 'Indians' of the west and east Kootenay were at continual strife. It was customary for the west Kootenay Indians to winter along the southern Columbia and to ascend the stream every summer, to the lakes where hunting was good. As the tribes in the Slocan were always on the alert for war, they had their scouts out on the Arrow Lakes to note when their enemies came up the river. One summer the scouts returned from the rrowLakes with news that a particularly large force of warriors were going up the river. So the Slocan tribes prepared for war and crossed the mountains in force to Nakusp. On embarking from their canoes at Nakusp (the bay behind the long point) they noticed signs of a great storm having passed. On proceeding up the lake for some distance they came upon the force of the enemy. But alas ! There were none to resist them, for the great storm had apparently come suddenly upon them and there was nothing left but a heaving mass of canoe wreckage and dead bodies. The Slocan Indians took this as a great favour from the great 'Manatoo', and in token of respect they fired all their arrows at the high rock off which they lay, and wrote inscriptions on the face of the rock. Because of the vast wealth of arrow heads that fell to the bottom of the lake that day, the Indians named it Arrow Lake. (Relayed by Richard Blyth, as told to him by Chief Louis Joseph, Burton.) Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office.


Gallery

File:Upper Arrow lakes 1.jpg, File:Upper Arrow lakes 2.jpg, File:Upper Arrow lakes 3.jpg, File:Upper Arrow lakes 4.jpg, File:Upper Arrow lakes 5.jpg, File:View of Arrow Lake from the Needles Ferry in August.JPG, File:Arrow Lake at Nakusp Waterfront.JPG, File:Galena Bay Ferry.JPG,


See also

*
List of lakes of British Columbia This is an incomplete list of lakes of British Columbia, a province of Canada. Larger lake statistics * List of lakes 1 *101 Mile Lake *103 Mile Lake *105 Mile Lake *108 Mile Lake A *Adams Lake *Albreda Lake *Alouette Lake *Alic ...
* British Columbia Ferries *
Nakusp, British Columbia The Village of Nakusp () is located south of the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk Mountains, Selkirk and Monashee Mountains, Monashee range ...
*
Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes The era of steamboats on the Arrow Lakes and adjoining reaches of the Columbia River is long-gone but was an important part of the history of the West Kootenay and Columbia Country regions of British Columbia Canada. The Arrow LakesThe lakes are ...


References


Further reading

* Parr, Joy (2010). '' Sensing Changes: Technologies, Environments, and the Everyday, 1953–2003'', UBC Press. {{authority control Columbia Country Columbia River Kootenay Land District Lake groups of Canada Lakes of British Columbia Reservoirs in British Columbia