Stuart Lake
Stuart Lake, or Nak'albun ("Mount Pope Lake", Athapascan pronunciation: [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 or Nak'alkoh - ″Mount Pope River″). Stuart Lake is 66 kilometres (41 mi) long, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide and relatively shallow, with an average depth of 26 metres (85 ft). There are several privately owned islands on Stuart lake.
| Stuart Lake | |
|---|---|
Stuart Lake | |
| Location | British Columbia |
| Group | Nechako Lakes |
| Coordinates | 54°33′N 124°35′W |
| Catchment area | 14,600 km2 (5,600 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 90 km (56 mi) |
| Max. width | 13 km (8.1 mi) |
| Surface area | 358 km2 (138 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Max. depth | 95 m (312 ft) |
| Water volume | 9.3 km3 (7,500,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Shore length1 | 170 km (110 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 680 m (2,230 ft) |
| Settlements | Fort St. James |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Stuart Lake offers boating, canoeing, kayaking swimming and sunbathing at sandy beaches, fishing, water skiing, viewing ancient indigenous pictographs, camping, snowmobiling, ice fishing, ice sailing, and dog sledding. Two provincial park campgrounds, Paarens Beach and Sowchea Bay, and a small municipal campground 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 early May. Stuart Lake contains rainbow trout, char or lake trout, whitefish, kokanee, Dolly Varden, burbot fish and in deeper areas sturgeon (protected).