Buntzen Lake

 hiking, lake, canoeing, kayaking

History

Buntzen lake used to be named Trout Lake, and was also called Lake Beautiful, and was renamed to Buntzen Lake in 1905 at the opening of the tunnel to Coquitlam Lake.

In 1903 the lake was used to power Vancouver's first hydroelectric power station. A tunnel was excavated through Eagle Mountain from Coquitlam Lake to Buntzen Lake. Coquitlam Lake was dammed, and water flowed 3.6 km through the tunnel to Buntzen Lake, and from there, through an outlet at the north end of the lake to two power generating stations on Indian Arm. The first, built in 1903, and the second built in 1914. Both plants are still operational.

Buntzen Lake is also used in another power generating plant, Burrard Generating Station, a gas-powered plant, where water is used to produce steam for the generators.

The area around the lake is managed by BC Hydro as a recreation site and visitors can swim, fish, hike, and boat on the lake.

The use of Buntzen Lake in movies has been prolific. Appearances include

* Lake Placid (film) (1999)
* The X-Files
* Highlander (series)
* Freddy Vs. Jason
* Pathfinder
* Smallville episode 5x04 Aqua
* Supernatural episode 1x03 Dead in the Water
* Dark Angel
* Three O‘Clock (2005)
* It (1990) by Stephen King