Williston Lake

Feature Type:Reservoir - Body of water maintained at a controlled level, the stored water being used mainly for utilitarian purposes.
Status:
Name Authority: BC Geographical Names Office
Relative Location: Expansion of Peace, Finlay and Parsnip Rivers E of Hudson's Hope, Cassiar Land District
Latitude-Longitude: 56°00'00''N, 123°55'00''W at the approximate centre of this feature.
Datum: NAD83
NTS Map: 93O/13
Related Maps:
93O 93O/13 94B 94B/1
94B/2 94B/3 94C 94C/1
94C/10 94C/15 94C/8 94C/9

Origin Notes and History:

Adopted 13 March 1969 on 94C.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named after the Honourable Ray Williston, then-Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources. (file B.1.64).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

This is the reservoir formed by the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, formerly called the Portage Mountain Dam; in the planning phases, the pondage was referred to as Peace River Reservoir. Elevation 3 December 1970: 2165 feet; might reach maximum pondage in 1971 or 1972. Eventual length 156 miles north to south; 96 miles east to west; 684 sq. miles (438,000 acres).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office