Floating 12,000-Sq-Metre Island Reappears 20 Miles Away on Williston Lake
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 1
Floating 12,000-Sq-Metre Island Reappears 20 Miles Away on Williston Lake
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 1
Summary
Monday's sighting put the forested island back on Williston Lake nearly 20 miles from where boaters filmed it earlier in August before it vanished again.
Satellite imagery confirmed the roughly 150-by-75-metre mass is real, with nearly 100 trees growing on woody debris that BC Hydro says likely broke free from a sheltered shoreline.
High snowpack and steady summer rain have pushed the reservoir to its highest level in 14 years, creating the buoyancy and open-water conditions that may have lifted and moved it.
BC Hydro warned the island is an unstable mat of logs and roots despite supporting birds, small animals and mature trees, making it a navigation hazard rather than a curiosity to board.
The reappearance has fueled local fascination because the reservoir, created in the 1970s after the W.A.C. Bennett dam flooded the region, could keep the floating forest alive for years.