Sedimentation processes in a short residence-time intermontane lake, Kamloops Lake, British Columbia

Kamloops Lake in central British Columbia is a deep, intermontane lake fed by the strong and seasonally variable flows of the Thompson River. Considerations of lake-river interaction, supported by physical and geological evidence, suggest that sediment transport and deposition within the lake is controlled by three interdependent but distinct processes: delta progradation at the lake-river confluence which results in delta topset and foresee bedding; sediment density surges originating along the delta face which result in turbidite sequences lakeward from the base of the delta; and dispersal by the interflowing river plume which, due to Coriolis effects, results in a higher sedimentation rate and greater fraction of coarser material along the right-hand side (Northern Hemisphere) of the lake in the direction of flow.