Schwatka Lake
Encyclopedia
Schwatka Lake is a reservoir
created by the dam
ming 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.
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 rely entirely on aquifer
s, 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.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
created by the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
ming of the Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
in Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, completed in 1958. The dam provides electrical power generation
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
and is operated by the Yukon Energy Corporation
Yukon Energy Corporation
Yukon Energy Corporation is a Canadian Crown corporation in the Yukon.YEC is a subsidiary of Yukon Development Corporation and was established in 1987 to take over the Yukon assets of the Northern Canada Power Commission. YEC generates virtually all of the Yukon's electricity supply, and...
. The White Horse Rapids
White Horse rapids
The White Horse rapids were rapids on the Yukon River in Canada's Yukon Territory, named for their supposed resemblance to the mane of a charging white horse...
, which gave the city its name, are now under the lake. The lake was named after Frederick Schwatka
Frederick Schwatka
Frederick Gustavus Schwatka was a United States Army lieutenant with degrees in medicine and law and a noted explorer of northern Canada and Alaska.-Early life and career:...
, a US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
who was first to explore the total length of the Yukon River.
A fish ladder
Fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...
has been constructed around the hydroelectric dam
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
to allow the passage of Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
to their spawning grounds upstream of Whitehorse. The Chinook salmon that pass the dam have the longest freshwater migration
Fish migration
Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...
route of any salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, over 3,000 kilometres to the mouth of the Yukon River in the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
.
Whitehorse Water Aerodrome
Whitehorse Water Aerodrome
Whitehorse Water Aerodrome is located on Schwatka Lake, south of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with...
, a float plane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base, is located on the lake. The lake has been the city's water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
for some years, but the city is now converting to rely entirely on aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s, partly due to the threat of pollution from fuel
Aviation fuel
Aviation fuel is a specialized type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft. It is generally of a higher quality than fuels used in less critical applications, such as heating or road transport, and often contains additives to reduce the risk of icing or explosion due to high temperatures,...
spills and other activities by people in the watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
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.