Sproat Lake

Sproat Lake
Fall colours at Sproat Lake
Sproat Lake is located in Vancouver Island
Sproat Lake
Sproat Lake
LocationVancouver Island, British Columbia
Coordinates49°16′N 125°02′W / 49.267°N 125.033°W / 49.267; -125.033
Basin countriesCanada
Surface area3,775 ha (9,330 acres)
Average depth74 m (243 ft)
Max. depth195 m (640 ft)
Shore length190.8 km (56.4 mi)
References[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Sproat Lake is a lake on central Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was known as Kleecoot, meaning "wide open" by local indigenous people.

Roughly cross-shaped with four arms, it is over 25 kilometres in length, and has 90.8 kilometres of shoreline.[1] Home of the last Martin Mars type waterbombers, and near Port Alberni, Sproat Lake is a popular summer recreational area for the Alberni Valley. Highway 4 runs along its north shore.[2]

The lake maintains a small wintering population of Marbled Murrelets which also nest in the area, the only freshwater alcids on Earth.[citation needed]

In August of 2023, Sproat Lake was voted British Columbia's Best Lake by CBC's viewers.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Vancouver Island Large Lakes Management Plan" (PDF). Fish and Wildlife Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
  2. ^ Port Alberni Tourism Retrieved December 6, 2016
  3. ^ Sproat Lake in Port Alberni voted B.C.'s best lake in CBC bracket Retrieved August 4, 2023