Atlin Lake

The blue colour that you can see in the icebergs, in Llewellyn Glacier and are the same blues that you can in in the waters of Atlin lake. They occur for the same reason. The chemical bond between oxygen and hydrogen in water absorbs light in the red end of the visible light spectrum. In Atlin Lake you can see a great variety of blue and green colours, from steel blue at Janus Point and Caribbean blue at Bastion Island to ocean green at Mt. Adam.

Area Colours

Warm Bay Green Blue

O’Donnell River Azure Blue

Janus point Steel Blue

Lake Side Bastion Island Caribbean blue

Between Sloko & Llyewellyn Cerulean Blue

Llyewellyn Inlet Sage Green

Cliff Bay Aqua marine

Around Corner from Cliff Bay Electric Blue

Mt. Adam Ocean Green

Atlin Lake is the largest freshwater lake in British Columbia, at four miles wide and 85 miles long (775 square kilometers). The lake is deep and very cold as it is fed from Llewellyn Glacier and contains large amounts of glacial sediment that are continually deposited in the lake.

It is the largest natural lake in the North American Cordillera consisting of 791 km2. The inflow from the Juneau Ice Fields brings in large amounts of sediment and is distributed by interflow and underflow. This mixes with the sediment from the Llewelluyn and Willison glacier melt. This sediment in part creates the beautiful colours of the lake.

The waters of Atlin Lake are known to be home to lake trout, Arctic grayling, Dolly Varden and two species of Whitefish.