Quamichan Lake

Quamichan Lake is a lake in the Cowichan Valley region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located three kilometres to the northeast of the City of Duncan.^[4]

Quamichan Lake and its sister Somenos Lake were created 11,000 years ago by receding glaciers. Both lakes contribute to Cowichan River. Quamichan Lake's outflow is Quamichan Creek which joins with Somenos Creek, the outflow from Somenos Lake, which flows to Cowichan River.^[5]

The Cowichan Watershed Board identifies a common set of conditions for both shallow lakes:^[5]

• excessive nutrient loading from the farms and homes which surround the lakes
• insufficient "flushing" in summer due to reduced inflows and truncated outflows
• increased plant growth ("algae-blooms"), and
• eutrophication (reduced oxygen as the vegetation decomposes)
• intensified warming

In autumn 2016, the lake's algae received public attention after news coverage of its killing at least four dogs.^[6]

"Quamichan" was an ogress in the lore of the Cowichan peoples who stole and ate children whose name was adopted by the subgroup of the Cowichan also called Kw'amutsun.^[7] Their community was adjacent to the lake.

The surface area of Quamichan Lake is 313.4 ha (774 acres) with a maximum depth of 8.2 m (27 ft) and a mean depth of 4.7 m (15 ft). The surrounding watershed for this large, shallow lake is 16.3 km² (6.3 sq mi).^[1]

The Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve is located alongside the lake.^[8]

The lake is habitat to algae and trout. There are also Pumpkinseed (invasive sunfish) and catfish in the lake. Many migratory birds winter in the lake as it rarely freezes over in the winter.

In 2007 the Quamichan Watershed Stewardship Society ("Quamichan Stewards") was formed by residents and farmers living around Quamichan Lake who were concerned about its degrading condition.

Entre 2010 y 2014, se añadieron aproximadamente 65 500 truchas al lago mediante un criadero. En 2014, se construyó un refugio para truchas que incluía 1500 pies lineales de un sistema de aireación por burbujas gracias a la colaboración entre el municipio de North Cowichan , el Rotary Club de Duncan, TimberWest Forest Corporation, Woodmere Strata Corporation, Aquatech Environmental Systems y la Quamichan Watershed Stewardship Society. El suministro de aire comprimido soluciona la falta de oxígeno a finales del verano causada por la muerte de las algas. ^{[ 9 ]}

La playa del parque Art Mann es un parque recreativo municipal con zonas de juegos y una rampa para botar embarcaciones.

Las residencias junto al lago incluyen algunas de las más caras de la isla de Vancouver, al norte de Victoria . ^{[ 10 ]} El cantante de Irish Rovers , Will Millar, vive en una de las residencias junto al lago. ^{[ 11 ]}

• Lista de lagos de la Columbia Británica

Contenido multimedia relacionado con el lago Quamichan en Wikimedia Commons.