Shawnigan Lake
Encyclopedia
Shawnigan Lake is a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 on southern Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, located to the west of Saanich Inlet
Saanich Inlet
Saanich Inlet is a body of salt water that lies between the Saanich Peninsula and the Malahat highlands of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Located just northwest of Victoria, the inlet is 24 km long , has a surface area of 65 km2 , and its maximum depth is 225 m . Great...

 and to the south of the Cowichan Valley
Cowichan Valley
The Cowichan Valley is a region around the Cowichan River and Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized form of the First Nations tribal name Quw'utsun.Communities include...

 region. It is the location of the village of Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
Shawnigan Lake is a village on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. The name Shawnigan is an adaptation of the Hunquminum name for the Shawnigan Lake, the lake the village is situated at, Shaanii'us...

. Its aboriginal name in the Hunquminum language is Shaanii'us.

Geology and soils

Bedrock around the southern two-thirds of the lake is meta-igneous
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...

 rock of Lower Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...

 age which is rich in mafic
Mafic
Mafic is an adjective describing a silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron; the term is a portmanteau of the words "magnesium" and "ferric". Most mafic minerals are dark in color and the relative density is greater than 3. Common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine,...

 minerals except along southeastern shores where felsic
Felsic
The word "felsic" is a term used in geology to refer to silicate minerals, magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium....

 minerals dominate. Bands of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 up to several meters thick are scattered within this metamorphic complex. Around northern shores are volcanic rocks of variable composition from the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

 period.

Soils around the lake are mostly well drained or rapidly drained gravelly sandy loams or gravelly loamy sands with brown podzolic
Brown podzolic
Brown podzolic soils are a subdivision of the Podzolic soils in the British soil classification. Although classed with podzols because they have an iron-rich, or spodic horizon, they are, in fact intermediate between podzols and Brown earths...

 profile development. Some meet the definition of podzols under the current Canadian system of soil classification
Canadian system of soil classification
The Canadian system of soil classification is more closely related to the American system than any other. They differ in several ways. The Canadian system is designed to cover only Canadian soils. The Canadian system dispenses with a sub-order hierarchical level. Solonetzic and Gleysolic soils are...

. A small area of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

 lies near the southern end of the community of Shawnigan Lake
Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
Shawnigan Lake is a village on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. The name Shawnigan is an adaptation of the Hunquminum name for the Shawnigan Lake, the lake the village is situated at, Shaanii'us...

.

Ecology

Fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 in the lake include rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, cutthroat trout
Cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

, kokanee salmon and smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

. Their populations are sufficient to support a recreational fishery.

Features

Memory Island Provincial Park
Memory Island Provincial Park
Memory Island Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located at the south end of Shawnigan Lake on southern Vancouver Island.-References:*...

, a small islet in the lake, was founded in memorial to two Lake residents lost during the Second World War. Also, a local park (Old Mill Park) contains the remains of a lumber mill that was built to support the fledgling village when it was founded nearly one hundred years ago. The mill burned in a fire several years after construction, and the old wooden supports from the mill are still visible in the lake.

Climate


Shawnigan Lake's highest recorded temperature was 37 °C (98.6 °F) as of Jul 29, 2009.
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