Epoxy

Nation Lakes

Omineca, British Columbia, Canada

Also known as Chuchi Lake, Fort St. James

Water leaving the Nation Lakes ends up in the Arctic Ocean. The chain drains east into the Peace, and from there north through the Mackenzie.

The four lakes run east, downstream: Tsayta, Indata, Tchentlo and Chuchi, strung on short stretches of the Nation River. Together they make a 120 kilometre paddle that takes most people between five and ten days.

It is not a circuit, so the trip needs a shuttle: leave a vehicle at the Chuchi end and drive several hours of logging road to put in at Tsayta. The river sections can carry log jams that need portaging, and there is no cell service on the chain.

The Carrier have travelled this route for centuries and still do. The provincial park came in 2004, out of the Fort St. James land use plan.

Details

Feature: Lake
Build: Epoxy
Material: Solid Walnut
Colour: Forest Green
Size: 10-1/2" x 16"
Completed: February 2025

Shop this Style $350.00 CAD

Detail of the Nation Lakes map by Keyway

How this one was made

Two sections to dam here, the water and the black lettering, each flooded over its area and sanded back flush. The lake is long and thin with a shoreline that never settles down, and the river running off the east end narrows to almost nothing, which is exactly where air gets stuck under a flood. Walnut is the forgiving part, tighter grained than cherry or maple, so the seal has less working against it. The green is a departure for us and it sits differently on walnut than the blues do.