British Columbia contains more than 20,000 lakes, from long glacial troughs to immense hydroelectric reservoirs. The 12 below are a map-oriented selection of major or especially notable water bodies. They are not a strict ranking, because surface area, depth, length and cultural or regional importance produce different orders.
The province’s Freshwater Atlas supplies a connected mapping framework for lakes and watersheds. Each entry here identifies whether the water body is natural or a reservoir, places it within British Columbia and follows its outlet toward a larger drainage basin. Argo’s world lake map provides the global context.
Measurements also require care. Reservoir area changes with operating level and a natural lake’s mapped area can vary with shoreline data. Maximum depth identifies one point rather than the usual water column. Where provincial sources retain different depth figures, the entry reports the range instead of silently choosing the larger value.
1. Williston Reservoir
Williston Reservoir is an artificial lake in northeastern British Columbia. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam impounds the Peace River and the reservoir extends into long arms along the former Peace, Parsnip and Finlay river valleys. Its water ultimately belongs to the Mackenzie River basin through the Peace and Slave river system.
A provincial British Columbia lake summary gives a surface area of about 1,773 square kilometers and identifies it as the province’s largest lake by area when reservoirs are included. The natural-lake leader is different, which is why “largest lake” needs a stated method.
2. Atlin Lake
Atlin Lake lies in the far northwest, with a small northern portion extending into Yukon. It is a natural glacial lake surrounded by high mountains. Water leaves through the Atlin River toward Tagish Lake and eventually joins the Yukon River system on its route to the Bering Sea.
The same provincial summary reports about 775 square kilometers and calls Atlin the largest natural lake in British Columbia. Map users should notice that the lake crosses a jurisdictional boundary, so a figure for the whole lake is not the same as the surface area located inside the province.
3. Kootenay Lake
Kootenay Lake occupies a long mountain trench between the Selkirk and Purcell ranges in southeastern British Columbia. The Kootenay River enters the main lake and leaves through the West Arm before reaching the Columbia River at Castlegar. It is a natural lake whose outlet level and flow have been regulated.
A provincial Kootenay Lake report gives an area of about 395 square kilometers, a mean depth of 94 meters and a maximum depth of 154 meters. The distinction between mean and maximum depth prevents the deepest point from being mistaken for typical lake conditions.
4. Okanagan Lake
Okanagan Lake extends south from Vernon to Penticton in the dry southern interior. It is a natural valley lake with a regulated outlet. Water moves into the Okanagan River, crosses a chain of smaller lakes and eventually reaches the Columbia River in Washington.
The BC Geographical Names record lists an area of 361 square kilometers and a deepest point of 242 meters, while a provincial water-quality report uses a maximum near 230 meters. Survey sources and rounding account for published differences, so the lake is best described as roughly 230 to 242 meters deep rather than assigning false precision.
5. Quesnel Lake
Quesnel Lake lies in the Cariboo region of central British Columbia. It fills a branching glacial trough and drains west through the Quesnel River to the Fraser. The long narrow arms and steep underwater slopes make it a classic fjord-type lake despite its inland position.
The provincial place-name record gives an area of 263 square kilometers and cites a recorded maximum depth of 530 meters. Another provincial publication gives 511 meters. Different surveys or retained historical values explain the discrepancy; both establish Quesnel as British Columbia’s deepest widely documented lake.
6. Babine Lake
Babine Lake lies northwest of Prince George in the province’s northern interior. It is a natural, long glacial lake in the Skeena River basin. Its outlet becomes the Babine River, which joins the Skeena before reaching the Pacific near Prince Rupert.
The provincial lake summary identifies Babine as British Columbia’s longest lake at about 177 kilometers. Length follows the elongated basin and does not imply that Babine has the greatest surface area or volume. Its irregular shore also makes a single north-to-south measurement dependent on mapped endpoints.
7. Shuswap Lake
Shuswap Lake is a natural lake with four major arms in the southern interior. Water from mountain and plateau tributaries converges there before leaving through Little Shuswap Lake and the South Thompson River. The Thompson joins the Fraser at Lytton.
A provincial shoreline habitat report gives Shuswap an area near 310 square kilometers and notes that the main lake lacks a dam or flow-control structure. Seasonal water-level movement is natural, an important contrast with heavily regulated Okanagan Lake.
8. Stuart Lake
Stuart Lake lies at Fort St. James in north-central British Columbia. It belongs to a connected chain with Trembleur and Takla lakes. Water exits through the Stuart River, enters the Nechako and reaches the Fraser.
BC Parks describes Stuart as about 90 kilometers long with roughly 270 kilometers of shoreline. The lake is natural, while access and settlement are concentrated near its southeastern end. Its basin connection is more informative on a provincial map than shoreline length alone.
9. Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake sits high on the Chilcotin Plateau east of the Coast Mountains. Glacial erosion formed its deep, elongated natural basin. The Chilko River carries its outflow into the Chilcotin River and then the Fraser.
The province’s lake summary gives a surface area near 180 square kilometers and an elevation around 1,175 meters, describing it as British Columbia’s largest natural high-elevation lake. “High-elevation” is essential to that superlative. Atlin and other natural lakes cover more area at lower elevations.
10. Harrison Lake
Harrison Lake lies east of Vancouver at the southern end of the Coast Mountains. It is a natural glacial lake fed mainly from the north by the Lillooet River. The short Harrison River carries its water south into the Fraser.
The lake’s lower end opens into productive wetlands near Harrison Hot Springs and the Fraser lowland. The province’s Harrison-Chehalis conservation account emphasizes the wetland complex supported by this connected water system. It illustrates the concrete habitat benefits discussed in Argo’s guide to why lakes matter.
11. Kinbasket Reservoir
Kinbasket Reservoir is an artificial lake behind Mica Dam on the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia. Its long arms occupy former reaches of the Columbia and Canoe rivers. Water released at the dam continues through the Columbia hydroelectric system.
Maps may label it Kinbasket Lake, but its origin remains a reservoir created for power generation. The flooded valley has a complex shoreline whose area changes with operating level. Comparing it with a natural lake therefore requires a stated date and water elevation.
12. Kamloops Lake
Kamloops Lake is a natural widening of the Thompson River west of the city of Kamloops. The river enters at the eastern end and exits at Savona, continuing toward its confluence with the Fraser. Its through-flowing character connects lake storage with a major river corridor.
The surrounding interior is much drier than the mountain catchments supplying the Thompson. Kamloops demonstrates why lake type cannot be inferred from climate at the shoreline. Argo’s lake-versus-river comparison explains how a basin can remain a lake even when a substantial river passes through it.
