Columbia Lake

Columbia Lake—between Canal Flats and Fairmont—is the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River. This shallow lake system and its surroundings support a myriad of species at risk, spectacular features like the Hoodoos, and important east-west and north-south options for wildlife migration and movement. Kootenay National Park and Height of the Rockies Provincial Park to the east, and the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy to the west, are excellent ecological bookends. These areas contain a landscape of diverse ecosystems and habitat types that extend from the high elevation Rockies across dry forests and grasslands to rich valley bottom wetlands and wetter forests of the Purcell mountains.