Powell River (Strait of Georgia)

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Powell River
View of the city of Powell River and the paper mill, with Powell Lake beyond

View of the city of Powell River and the paper mill, with Powell Lake beyond

Data
location British Columbia ( Canada )
River system Powell River
Headwaters Pacific Ranges ( Coast Mountains )
50 ° 23 ′ 15 ″  N , 124 ° 15 ′ 15 ″  W
Source height approx.  600  m
muzzle Strait of Georgia Coordinates: 49 ° 52 ′ 28 "  N , 124 ° 33 ′ 44"  W 49 ° 52 ′ 28 "  N , 124 ° 33 ′ 44"  W.
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference approx. 600 m
Bottom slope approx. 7.6 ‰
length 79 km
Catchment area approx. 1300 km²
Right tributaries Daniels River
Flowing lakes Powell Lake
Small towns Powell River

The Powell River is a 79 km long tributary of the Strait of Georgia in the Canadian province of British Columbia , about 130 km northwest of the city of Vancouver . The river was named after Israel Wood Powell (1836-1915), a British doctor, politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia.

The Powell River has its headwaters in the Pacific Ranges , a mountain range of the Coast Mountains , at an altitude of 600  m . There it is fed by several source streams. It initially flows 16 miles in a predominantly southerly direction through the mountainous country before flowing into the northern end of the 50 km long Powell Lake . 4 km above Powell Lake, the Daniels River meets the Powell River on the right. At the outflow from the lake, near the small town of Powell River , the river is dammed by a dam. Just under 500 m below the dam is the confluence of the Powell River into the sea. The catchment area of the Powell River covers approximately 1300 km².

Use of hydropower

The Powell River hydropower plant has been in operation since 1912. It was originally built to meet the electricity needs of the paper mill there. It takes advantage of the 36 m gradient between the lake and the nearby sea coast. The power plant has 5 units (set up between 1912 and 1926) with an installed capacity of 46 MW. It was sold to Brookfield Renewable by Catalyst Paper in the early 2000s .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Powell River . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
  2. ^ Andrew Scott: The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names: A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia . Harbor Publishing, Madeira Park, BC 2009, ISBN 978-1-55017-484-7 , pp. 475 (English).