Lake Koocanusa (Koocanusa Reservoir) is a transboundary reservoir located in southeastern British Columbia and northwestern Montana.
Koocanusa Reservoir was created by the construction of Libby Dam, 26 km (16.2 mi) upstream from the town of Libby, Montana, and impounds water from about 23,271 square kilometers (8,985 mi2), or 47 percent, of the Kootenai River drainage basin (Woods, 1982). Three Canadian rivers (Kootenai, Elk, and Bull Rivers) supply 87 percent of the inflow to Koocanusa Reservoir (Bonde and Bush, 1975). The reservoir has a volume of 7.16 cubic kilometers (1.72 cubic miles), and stretches 77 km (47.8 mi) from Libby Dam in Montana to the Canada-U.S. border and 68 km (42.3 mi) further into British Columbia (Easthouse, 2018). Koocanusa Reservoir has a mean depth of 38 meters (125 ft), a maximum depth of 106 m (348 ft) at the Libby Dam forebay, and a mean water residence time of about 9 months (Easthouse, 2013).
Lake Koocanusa (Koocanusa Reservoir) is a transboundary reservoir located in southeastern British Columbia and northwestern Montana.
Koocanusa Reservoir was created by the construction of Libby Dam, 26 km (16.2 mi) upstream from the town of Libby, Montana, and impounds water from about 23,271 square kilometers (8,985 mi2), or 47 percent, of the Kootenai River drainage basin (Woods, 1982). Three Canadian rivers (Kootenai, Elk, and Bull Rivers) supply 87 percent of the inflow to Koocanusa Reservoir (Bonde and Bush, 1975). The reservoir has a volume of 7.16 cubic kilometers (1.72 cubic miles), and stretches 77 km (47.8 mi) from Libby Dam in Montana to the Canada-U.S. border and 68 km (42.3 mi) further into British Columbia (Easthouse, 2018). Koocanusa Reservoir has a mean depth of 38 meters (125 ft), a maximum depth of 106 m (348 ft) at the Libby Dam forebay, and a mean water residence time of about 9 months (Easthouse, 2013).