Stave Lake

Garibaldi RangesLakes of the Lower MainlandMission, British ColumbiaNew Westminster Land DistrictReservoirs in British Columbia

Stave Lake is a lake and reservoir for the production of hydroelectricity in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of the District of Mission, about 65 km (40 mi) east of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The main arm of the lake is about 20 km (12 mi) long from north to south and its southwest arm, ending at Stave Falls Dam near Stave Falls, is about 9.5 km (5.9 mi) long. The total area of the lake currently is about 55 square kilometres (21 square miles). Prior to construction of the dam, the lake was about one-third the size of its current main arm. The Stave River, the traditional territory of the Sxa'yaks (Skayuks), a vanished Halqemeylem-speaking Coast Salish people related to today's Sto:lo, was a productive salmon river. The Skayuks demise was caused by the introduction of smallpox by the Europeans and subsequent expansion by the Kwantlen First Nation. The presence of large red cedar trees attracted lumber companies, notably Stave Lake Cedar, whose mill was a mile above the damsite. The lower portion of the Stave is called Hayward Lake, formed by Ruskin Dam and formerly a canyon similar to Capilano and Lynn Canyons, and at its head in the grounds of the one-time community of worker's housing, there is a recreation area there and the beginning of a lakeside trail using the right-of-way of a railway line.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Stave Lake (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).