Cultus Lake, British Columbia
Cultus Lake is a lake, associated community and provincial park in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the source of the Sweltzer River. Cultus Lake is located 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) south of the Chilliwack River, near the city of Chilliwack and approximately 80 kilometers (50 mi) east of Vancouver.[2] In 1950, Cultus Lake became a provincial park of British Columbia. Cultus Lake covers an area of 656 hectares, evenly on either side of the lake. At one time the lake had a sawmill and booming ground until it became a provincial park in the 1950s.
| Cultus Lake | |
|---|---|
Cultus Lake | |
| Location | Fraser Valley, British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 49°03′12″N 121°59′12″W / 49.0533°N 121.9867°WCoordinates: 49°03′12″N 121°59′12″W / 49.0533°N 121.9867°W |
| Primary inflows | Frosst Creek, Ascaphus Creek, Smith Falls Creek, Windfall Creek, Clear Creek, Teapot Creek, Watt Creek |
| Primary outflows | Sweltzer River |
| Catchment area | 65 km2 (25 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Surface area | 6.3 km2 (2.4 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 32 metres (105 ft) |
| Max. depth | 41.8 metres (137 ft) |
| Water volume | 0.2 cubic kilometres (0.048 cu mi)[1] |
| Residence time | 692 days[1] |
| Shore length1 | 14 kilometres (8.7 mi)[1] |
| Surface elevation | 47 metres (154 ft) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
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Etymology
Cultus Lake has always been an important place for spirit quests of the Sto:lo people. However, it was named with the Chinook Jargon word meaning primarily bad,[3] worthless, or good for nothing, though the same word can also mean free, without purpose, or simply nothing.[4]
Climate
| Climate data for Cultus Lake | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 38.0 (100.4) | 43.7 (110.7) | 37.8 (100.0) | 38.0 (100.4) | 36.5 (97.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 22.8 (73.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 43.7 (110.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.2 (57.6) | 17.7 (63.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 23.9 (75.0) | 24.4 (75.9) | 20.7 (69.3) | 15.1 (59.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 5.0 (41.0) | 14.5 (58.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.3 (43.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.2 (59.4) | 17.9 (64.2) | 18.3 (64.9) | 15.1 (59.2) | 10.4 (50.7) | 5.2 (41.4) | 2.4 (36.3) | 9.9 (49.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −0.7 (30.7) | 0.4 (32.7) | 1.8 (35.2) | 3.8 (38.8) | 7.3 (45.1) | 10.0 (50.0) | 11.8 (53.2) | 12.2 (54.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.1 (35.8) | −0.3 (31.5) | 5.3 (41.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.6 (−5.1) | −18.9 (−2.0) | −12.8 (9.0) | −3.9 (25.0) | −2.8 (27.0) | 1.7 (35.1) | 3.9 (39.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.0 (32.0) | −8.0 (17.6) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −21.7 (−7.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 204.5 (8.05) | 152.2 (5.99) | 139.3 (5.48) | 115.1 (4.53) | 94.3 (3.71) | 83.3 (3.28) | 52.8 (2.08) | 56.6 (2.23) | 84.4 (3.32) | 145.3 (5.72) | 233.8 (9.20) | 205.5 (8.09) | 1,566.9 (61.69) |
| Source 1: 1971–2000 Environment Canada[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: [6] | |||||||||||||
Recreation
Accommodations
British Columbia Parks has several camping sites in the area in addition to a few privately owned campgrounds.
Cultus Lake Waterpark
The Cultus Lake water park includes picnic areas, concession stands such as Pier 84' Fish and Chips, Burger Stop, Pizza 2 Go, Candy Shop, Sub shop and an Espresso Hut, a rentals booth which includes lockers, BBQs, umbrellas and loungers, and paid WiFi ($2/day). Their official website is www.cultus.com.
The waterslides at the facilities include:
- Blasters n' Twisters 1989
- Radical Rapids 1988
- Valley of Fear 1997
- Free Fall 1988
- Speed Slide 1988
- Colossal Canyon 2009
- Zero-60 Raceway 2009
- Pool with a clockwise current called the Adventure River 2003
- Tubular Terror 2012
- Bazooka Bowls 2013
- Boomerang 2013
- Rattler 2016
- 5 hot tubs located throughout the park
Note: The park also has smaller slides and areas for smaller children such as
- Pirates Cove
- Kiddie Castle
- Turtle Slide and Pool
They also offer life jackets for free.
Cultus Lake Adventure Park
Cultus Lake Adventure Park opened in July 2014 as the expansion of Giggle Ridge Adventure Golf adding 11 rides. After a multi phase expansion Cultus Lake Adventure Park now offers more than 18 rides and attractions.
Amusement rides include:
- Buckin' Bronco
- Classic Carousel
- Wagon Wheel – giant ferris wheel
- Bucky's Bumper Boats
- Balloon Adventure
- Wilderness Trail – kiddie playground with caves, streams, rope bridges, tree forts and panning for gems station
- Round Up 360 – Canada's only 360 pendulum ride
- Runaway Mine Train – rollercoaster
- Blastin' Barrels
- Windmill Drop
- Wave Swinger Ride
- Ribbit
- Honey Pots
- Cloud Buster - 120 ft. free fall
Government
The Cultus Lake Parks Board includes five commissioners, of whom 3 are elected from Cultus Lake, and 2 from the City of Chilliwack (as of 2017, Darcy Bauer and David Renwick). During the early 1900s, the Cultus Lake area began to build its popularity, which then led to the formation of a joint committee between Cultus Lake and the City of Chilliwack in 1924. This then led to the formation of the Cultus Lake Park Board in 1932, which is still in effect today.[7] As of 2014, the board chairman is David Renwick.[8][needs update]
Education
Cultus Lake Community School has approximately 150 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. The school was first opened in 1947 as a three-room schoolhouse.[9] It was destroyed by fire in February 1959; the current building opened in October of the same year. The school is administered by the Chilliwack School District.
References
- ^ a b c "Cultus Lake, Canada - 6.340sq km - Facts, Map".
- ^ British Columbian Tourist Attractions 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ A dictionary of the Chinook jargon: or, the Trade language of Oregon By George Gibbs page 3.
- ^ Environment Canada—1971–2000. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ "Historical Data - Climate - Environment and Climate Change Canada". 31 October 2011.
- ^ Chilliwack Museum 2006-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Official Website
- ^ "Cultus Lake Park Board". cultuslake.bc.ca. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ History of Cultus Lake Community School 2006-08-10 at the Wayback Machine (SD33 web site)
External links
- Cultus Lake Park community web site
- Cultus Lake Waterpark homepage
- Cultus Lake Golf Club homepage
- Cultus Lake Adventure Park Homepage
- BC Parks webpage
- Fish species in Cultus Lake