Green Lake

Green Lake is named for its colour, and the colour comes from the fact that it barely drains.

The outlet only runs in high water. The rest of the time the lake sits, fourteen kilometres of shallow warm water on the Cariboo Plateau, flushing itself very slowly. Algae and micro-organisms get time to build up, and fine particles of marl, a chalky calcium carbonate clay, stay suspended through the water. Between them they turn the whole lake a pale green that looks more Caribbean than interior British Columbia.

The shape is unusual for something that shallow. Fourteen kilometres end to end, a kilometre and a half across on average, and fifty seven kilometres of shoreline wrapped around it.

The nearest settlement is 70 Mile House, named for its distance up the Cariboo Wagon Road from Lillooet. The road was cut to carry miners north during the gold rush. The number stayed behind.