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Tuesday
13Jun

A Perfect Weekend

While my school work has most certainly suffered because of it, my weekend trip to Atlin, BC was well worth it. Atlin is a few hours drive from Whitehorse along a scenic gravel road, and lies on Atlin Lake, the largest Lake in British Columbia. My pal Lucas brought his boat, and the weather was perfect (30 degress and calm). It is, in fact, relatively rare to experience such a calm day on a lake as large as Atlin Lake, so we really hit the jackpot. Even the sunset was perfect.





The town of Atlin is a unique place. The people are friendly, and a large portion of the vehicles I passed on the way there waved “hello.” There are lots of float planes and boats for the charter fishing industry, and massive trophy trout have been caught in Atlin Lake. It is definitely on my short list of places I might like to live someday. Oh yes, and the view is splendid.





We tried our hand at fishing Atlin Lake, but a lake so large and deep can be difficult for the unexperienced. Furthermore, we were happy to just explore the lake a little, so our effort was really half-hearted. Plus, to say that we were out of our league would be an understatement. I lost count of the number of times we tangled our lines and had to replace them. But fish we did.



Well, some of us. Others were preoccupied with more important things.





On the way back to Whitehorse, we stopped at Tarfu and did some fishing and exploring there. More about that tomorrow. More photos from Atlin in this gallery.

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Update: Hartland has informed me that, while Atlin Lake is B.C.’s largest natural lake, Whilliston Lake is actually the largest. He adds: “My favorite fact: Theresa Island, found on the southern portion of Atlin lake, is the world’s largest inland island.” Thanks for the info.
Update June 19: Michael has now informed me that, while Teresa Island is the second tallest lake island, Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the largest. He gives two good links, here and here. Now I’ll be the first to admit that there is probably a difference between a lake island and an inland island, the latter lying on a lake not having any access to an ocean, but I’d venture to guess that some of the other islands listed in the links above must be considered inland islands. I’m not, however, entirely sure. If anyone has more information, please post it in the comments. And yes, Michael, now that you mention it, geography is pretty cool.

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Reader Comments (11)

Holy cow, you are getting amazing color with that polarizing filter. Great sharpness, were you using a tripod?
June 13, 2006 at 05:33PM | Unregistered CommenterAnthony
Nope. The first one of the sunset was actually shot from the boat at about 30km/hr. I think that's what made the water look so neat.
June 13, 2006 at 05:41PM | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Stark
Wow, Andrew. Those pictures make me want to live there, too. At least in summer.
June 13, 2006 at 06:32PM | Unregistered CommenterKim from Hiraeth
Atlin lake is B.C.'s largest natural lake.

Williston Lake, a resevoir above the WAC Bennet dam found north of MacKenzie, holds the title of B.C.'s largest lake.

My favorite fact: Theresa Island, found on the southern portion of Atlin lake, is the world's largest inland island.

Awesome photographs.
June 13, 2006 at 07:10PM | Unregistered Commenterhartland
Thanks for the info. I'll update my post.
June 13, 2006 at 07:14PM | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Stark
The pictures are amazing, I agree whole heartedly!

One question: Is that child giving the finger (in a somewhat inverted manner)? Surely not...
June 15, 2006 at 12:17AM | Unregistered Commentermissmellifluous
She is such a sweet little girl that I'm sure that gesture is not in her vocabulary.
June 15, 2006 at 12:46AM | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Stark
I always thought that with an area of 2766 km^2, Manitoulin Island in Ontario was the world's largest inland island (world's largest island in a freshwater lake)...

How big is Theresa Island?
June 18, 2006 at 08:08PM | Unregistered CommenterMichael
Not that you can trust every website in the world, but... http://www.worldislandinfo.com/LAKEV1.htm

As it turns out, Theresa Island is the second TALLEST inland island in the world...

http://www.worldislandinfo.com/MISINFORMATION.htm
You will need to scroll down a bit)

Man, geography is cool.
June 18, 2006 at 10:06PM | Unregistered CommenterMichael
Thanks for the info/links. I've updated my post.
June 22, 2006 at 10:52PM | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Stark
Teresa Island is indeed the 2nd tallest lake island on the planet; I would like to climb it, having gone to the top of Isla Ometepe, the first.

It is the 22nd largest lake island in the world, and lower-ranked for overall "inland islands."

Thanks for the links, and the photos.
July 16, 2006 at 07:54PM | Unregistered CommenterWorldIslandInfo

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