Ancient Sea Water Trapped in Powell Lake

One of our favorite places in the world is Powell Lake, BC. We love it so much we have a home floating on it's surface, a float cabin. While seeking information about Powell Lake, we discovered the results of an oceanographic study conducted by the University of British Columbia in 1962 and 1972. Oceanographic?

Powell Lake is one of the deepest lakes in BC with a recorded depth of 1,180 feet. It was created when glaciers scoured out its fjord shaped basin. If you travel up any of the inlets along the British Columbia coast, they look virtually the same as Powell Lake. The difference is they are filled with ocean water. In the case of Powell Lake, after the glaciers retreated the surrounding land rose and sea water became trapped. Over the years, fresh water increased the depth of the lake, but did not mix completely with the heavier salt water at the bottom. At least, that was the hypothesis.

What was discovered at the bottom of Powell Lake in 1962 was the oldest, about 10,000 years, trapped sea water to date. The water started becoming salty at about 400 feet and at the deepest levels was found to contain methane and hydrogen sulphide, which gives it a distinctive rotten egg odor. It contained no oxygen or life other than possible bacteria. This information sparked our imagination.

First we tried to think of a way to built a deep water sample apparatus of our own. In the end, we went to a friend and borrowed a Kemmerer bottle designed for such a task. On October 21, 2006, Wayne and I conducted our own deep water drop (1,100 feet) in Powell Lake. We were so excited when we opened the Kemmerer bottle and discovered our own 10,000 year old water.

Yes, it was yellow and smelled of rotten eggs. We don't have the ability to conduct a chemical analysis, but a friend is helping with that as well. You just never know where your imagination can lead you. In our case, it led us back 10,000 years.

Want more information about the drop? Read Up the Strait, the newest book in the Coastal BC Stories series by Wayne J. Lutz. It is available at www.PowellRiverBooks.com. -- Margy