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Map of Kootenay Lake

Kootenay Lake

49.7125° N, 116.8833° W

Shoreline and neighbouring water from open government data.

Download the map (SVG)

Kootenay Lake, British Columbia. 49.7125° N, 116.8833° W

Not for navigation. Depths are from government surveys and may be outdated.

borealbound.ca/lakes/bc/kootenay-lake/, compiled October 9, 2026

  • Canadian Geographical Names Database, Natural Resources Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
  • HydroLAKES v1.0, Messager et al. 2016 / WWF HydroSHEDS. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  • Census boundaries and population, 2021, Statistics Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada.
  • Known BC Fish Observations and BC Fish Distributions, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Bathymetric Maps – Open, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Recreation Sites and Trails BC: recreation site points, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Wildlife Management Units, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Real-time hydrometric data, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • National Water Data Archive (HYDAT) daily means, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • City page weather forecasts and alerts, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • Air Quality Health Index observations and forecasts, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • Photographs, Wikimedia Commons contributors. Each photo carries its own licence (CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA), credited where shown.

Kootenay Lake covers 422 km², making it larger than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia. It lies beside Nelson.

Government surveys have recorded 28 fish species here, including rainbow trout, bull trout and kokanee.

Area
422 km²
larger than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia
Shoreline
392 km
longer than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia
Fish species
28
more than 99% of the 2,793 surveyed lakes in British Columbia
Elevation
530 m

Today on the water

10.5 °C

Wind SSE 2 km/h, gusts 35

Observed at Nelson, as of Thu 11:00 p.m. MDT

rough Estimated waves, next 12 hours: up to 0.9 m.

Time12 a.m.3 a.m.6 a.m.9 a.m.12 p.m.3 p.m.6 p.m.9 p.m.
Wind km/hcalmcalmcalmcalmSW 30SW 30SW 20calm
Gusts5050
Waves (est.) m<0.1<0.1<0.1<0.10.9
Temp. °C1187813171511
Precip. %0000808000

Tonight: Clear. Increasing cloudiness after midnight. Low 7.

Weather: Nelson (local forecast), as of Thu 11:03 p.m. MDT

Water level

Kootenay Lake at Queens Bay: 531.35 m at Thu 11:00 p.m. MDT: 43 cm below the median for this time of year, within the normal range.

531.93531.33

Normal range (25th–75th percentile, HYDAT) Last 7 days

Provisional real-time data, subject to revision. hydrometric station 08NH064

Sun and moon

Civil dawn
7:27 a.m.
Sunrise
8:00 a.m.
Sunset
7:08 p.m.
Civil dusk
7:40 p.m.
Moonrise
6:58 a.m.
Moonset
6:28 p.m.
Moon
Waning crescent, 1% lit

Air Quality Health Index

2 low risk

Castlegar, as of Thu 11:00 p.m. MDT

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Local times.

How waves are estimated

Significant wave height from the forecast hourly wind and the open-water distance (fetch) upwind, using the SMB method (US Army Corps of Engineers Shore Protection Manual, 1984), rounded up to the next 0.1 m. It is not a measurement: gusts, leftover swell and shoals can make water rougher. Under 0.2 m: calm; 0.2–0.5 m: choppy; over 0.5 m: rough.

Depth

Not for navigation. Depths are from government surveys and may be outdated.

Fish

Sport fish by the share of the 469 government surveys (1901–2022) that recorded them.

  • Rainbow Trout205 of 469
  • Bull Trout69 of 469
  • Kokanee47 of 469
  • Mountain Whitefish20 of 469
  • Dolly Varden10 of 469Not recorded since 1981
  • Burbot8 of 469Not recorded since 1994
  • Brook Trout4 of 469
  • White Sturgeon4 of 469Not recorded since 1998
  • Lake Whitefish3 of 469Not recorded since 1981
  • Cutthroat Trout2 of 469Not recorded since 1911
  • Largemouth Bass2 of 469Not recorded since 1994
  • Westslope Cutthroat Trout2 of 469Not recorded since 1981
  • Pumpkinseed1 of 469Not recorded since 1973
  • Yellow Perch1 of 469Not recorded since 1994
Forage fish and other species (14)

Forage fish

  • Redside Shiner 24
  • Longnose Dace 13
  • Peamouth Chub 4
  • Pygmy Whitefish 3
  • Slimy Sculpin 3
  • Torrent Sculpin 3
  • Prickly Sculpin 2
  • Lake Chub 1
  • Leopard Dace 1

Other

  • Northern Pikeminnow 5
  • Longnose Sucker 3
  • Largescale Sucker 2
  • Bridgelip Sucker 1
  • Common Carp 1

Numbers are the surveys that recorded each species.

Fishing regulations: Region 4 – Kootenay. Check seasons and limits before you fish.

Getting on the water

8 listed access points, one of them a boat launch. marks launches on the map.

North shore

South shore

Southwest shore

Photos

Duck Lake and Kootenay Lake aerial
Photo: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kootenay Lake (4294070470)
Photo: Hardo Müller from Bonn, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kootenay Lake (4294073194)
Photo: Hardo Müller from Bonn, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons