Ghost Lake (Alberta)

Ghost Lake
Looking down on the lake & the Bow River
Location	Bighorn No. 8 / Rocky View County, Alberta
Coordinates	51°12′09″N 114°45′24″W / 51.20250°N 114.75667°W / 51.20250; -114.75667Coordinates: 51°12′09″N 114°45′24″W / 51.20250°N 114.75667°W / 51.20250; -114.75667
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Bow River, Ghost River
Primary outflows	Bow River
Catchment area	6,460 km² (2,490 sq mi)^[1]
Basin countries	Canada

Max. length	13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Max. width	1.4 km (0.87 mi)
Surface area	11.6 km² (4.5 sq mi)^[1]
Average depth	14.5 m (48 ft)
Max. depth	34 m (112 ft)^[1]
Shore length¹	32 km (20 mi)
Surface elevation	1,188 m (3,898 ft)

Settlements	Cochrane, Alberta
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Ghost Lake is a glacier fed man-made lake in Western Alberta, Canada, formed along the Bow River. It is located approximately 45 km west of the city of Calgary and immediately west of Cochrane.

Ghost Lake seen in early autumn

The lake lies in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 1,188 m (3,898 ft) and is lined on the north shore by Highway 1A. Trans-Canada Highway passes a short distance to the south. It was formed in 1929 with the completion of the Ghost Dam, and was developed on land leased from the Morley Indians by Calgary Power Ltd. The lake and dam are primarily used for power generation. Calgary Power changed its name to TransAlta Utilities in 1981.

The lake freezes in December until approximately mid May. Sport fish include Lake Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Lake Whitefish and Brown Trout. Large fluctuations in water level due to power generation affect the recreational opportunities and biological productivity of the lake. The volume of water being released from the lake and the variance thereof also affect the Bow River downstream of the dam.

The lake has a water surface of 11.6 km² (4.5 sq mi) and a drainage basin of 6,460 km² (2,490 sq mi)^[1] The average depth of the lake is 14.5 m (48 ft), and it reaches a maximum of 34 m (112 ft)

The location brings consistent, strong winds, which make the lake suitable for Sailing and Iceboating. The Ghost Lake Iceboat Club, the premier Iceboat club in Western Canada is located at Ghost Lake. Ghost Lake was also selected as the swimming venue for the inaugural Ironman Calgary 70.3. The summer village of Ghost Lake and the Ghost Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area were established on the northern shore of the lake.

Gallery

Ghost Reservoir Dam
Mouth of the Ghost River

References

1 2 3 4 University of Alberta. "Atlas of Alberta Lakes: Ghost Reservoir". Retrieved 2008-01-13.

Hydrography of Alberta

Rivers	Athabasca Battle Beaver Bow Brazeau Crowsnest Elbow Hay Little Bow Milk North Saskatchewan Oldman Peace Pembina Red Deer Slave Smoky South Saskatchewan

Waterfalls	Athabasca Bow Bridal Veil Crescent Crypt Elbow Panther Sunwapta

Lakes	Athabasca Beaverhill Bistcho Claire Cold La Biche Lesser Slave Pigeon Ste. Anne Sylvan Utikuma Wabamun

Reservoirs	Abraham Barrier Brazeau Chestermere Kananaskis McGregor Minnewanka Glenmore Milk River Ridge Sikome Gleniffer

Glaciers	Athabasca Bow Columbia Icefield Crowfoot Hector Peyto Saskatchewan Vulture Wapta Waputik Icefield

Other	Hay-Zama Wetlands Peace–Athabasca Delta Whooping Crane Summer Range (wetlands)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, September 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.