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Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake
Location	Whitehorse, Yukon
Coordinates	60°41′05.4″N 135°01′36.5″W / 60.684833°N 135.026806°W / 60.684833; -135.026806
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Yukon River
Primary outflows	Yukon River
Basin countries	Canada
Surface area	15 ha (37 acres)
Average depth	6–8 m (20–26 ft)

Schwatka Lake is a reservoir created by the damming of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon, completed in 1958. The dam provides electrical power generation and is operated by the Yukon Energy Corporation. The White Horse Rapids, which gave the city its name, are now under the lake. The lake was named after Frederick Schwatka, a US Army Lieutenant who was first to explore the total length of the Yukon River. The lake's surface area is approximately 15 hectares (37 acres) and a depth of about 6–8 metres (20–26 ft).

A fish ladder has been constructed around the hydroelectric dam to allow the passage of Chinook salmon to their spawning grounds upstream of Whitehorse. The Chinook salmon that pass the dam have the longest freshwater migration route of any salmon, over 3,000 kilometres to the mouth of the Yukon River in the Bering Sea.

Whitehorse Water Aerodrome, a float plane base, is located on the lake. The lake has been the city's water supply for some years, but the city is now converting to relying entirely on aquifers, partly due to the threat of pollution from fuel spills and other activities by people in the watershed of the lake. Previously, there had been talk of moving the float plane base or the water supply to Fish Lake, which is impractically located to the west over a winding, steep road.

References

1. UMA Engineering Ltd; Environmental Dynamics Inc (August 2003), City of Whitehorse Watershed Management Plan Volume 1: Background/Status Report (PDF), p. 9, Whitfield, P.H., McNaughton, B., and Whitley, W.G., "Indications of Ground Water Influences on Nutrient Transport Through Schwatka Lake, Yukon Territory", Water Resources Bulletin, American Water Resources Association, Vol. 18, No. 2, April 1982 This paper describes Schwatka Lake as having a surface area of approximately 15 ha and a depth of 6 to 8 m.
2. Whitfield, P.H.; McNaughton, B.; Whitley, W.G. (April 1982). "Indications of Ground Water Influences on Nutrient Transport Through Schwatka Lake, Yukon Territory". Water Resources Bulletin. 18 (2). American Water Resources Association.

External links

• Schwatka Lake from Whitehorse Parks & Outdoor Spaces

• "Exploring the Whitehorse Fishway" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-29. (1.36 MiB)

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