Deglaciation History
The history of Cowley Lake date back to the deglaciation of the Southern Lakes approximately 10,000 years ago. During the period of glacial retreat, the melt from glaciers occupying Bennet Lake and the Wheaton and Watson valleys drained out through the broad valley that is now a chain of lakes. Cowley Lake is the central lake in this chain and represents a meander in this outflow river.
The image to the left shows the course of this melt river during this period. Once the glaciers filling Tagish and Marsh Lake melted to allow the water to flow through the path currently followed by the Yukon River, the river filling the Cowley Valley stopped flowing and the chain of lakes resulted. Studies in paleoliminology may shed light on these dates. Once the lake developed, diatom populations expanded. By examining this transition period through studying lake sediment cores, we may be able to get more specific dates on these events through carbon 14 dating.. |
Precontact history of the region
what I remember from research, from talks with White Pass, from interviews with old timers, and from questions posed to water experts and engineers... 1. White Pass never had the proper approvals to change the course of the creek into the lake nor to lower the lake in any way that might harm marine life [ Johnny Johns remembers not just lake trout but even salmon coming up the creek into the lake] 2. do not think there is any basis for White Pass to rely on the passing of time to defend their illegal actions 3. white pass was willing [without admitting any liability] to explore working with us to repair the lake as much as possible and up to a certain financial amount ...provided we heralded their environmental good work ! 4. a water engineer thought it would be possible to return the original creek to the south end and culvert the water under the tracks if the man made stream that diverted the creek could be used as an over flow channel to ensure flooding peaks followed the existing man made stream flowing past the lake 5. also some of the under water springs might be revived through dredging? 6. a more expensive option was not a culvert but a raising of the rail road bed or even a bridge? remember at the time I did not get much support from local residents on the lake as worry by them about how many others and tourists would show up looking for fishing and recreational opportunities on our [private ]lake ...left me a bit disturbed as the nod was given to privacy over natural restoration of an important ecological feature! finally there would need to be extensive shoreline clearance to remove vegetation as likely restoration will raise the lake ...but that as I remember was a challenge that could be controlled to a certain extent by up stream use of overflow into the man made creek Hopefully you remember your former neighbours Gord and Kathleen. There has been a recent interest in restoring Cowley Lake to a point somewhat closer to it's original condition than it is now. The Experiential Science class (Grade 11) has been doing some monitoring of the lake in terms of PH, Dissolved Oxygen, etc under the tutelage of Bob Sharp. Recently, it has become apparent that the lake must have lost some of it's "underground flow" as the DO is down, which has resulted in a dramatic reduction in everything from bugs to ducks. A letter has been sent to White Pass informing them of the situation and requesting assistance in restoration. |
Gold Rush History
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Settlement of the area
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