Today in Math 10 Honours we looked into the volumes and surface areas of different 3-dimensional shapes and objects, including cones and pyramids. Then, Ms. McArthur gave us the task of figuring out the volume of a Garibaldi lake, which is a lake located not far from Squamish. I decided that the shape of the bottom of the lake is a cone, as it makes the most sense being surrounded by mountains. We were given the average surface area and depth of lake – here are my results;

Average surface area = 9.94km

Depth of lake = 119m

–

1 km = 1000m

9.94km = 9940m^2

9940m^2 x 119m = 1 182 860m^3

1 182 860 / 3 = 394 287 m^3

(divided by 3 because that is a part of the formula of the volume of a cone)

My final answer is equal to 394 287m^3 (or 394 287 000L)

–

If the barrier, which is over 250 metres long were to collapse, I assume that over 75% of the water would escape, which is around 295 708 500 Litres of water (394 287 000 x 0.75) because in my opinion, only the water closer to the surface would flow out (since the part that is on the bottom is caved and not guarded by the dam).

Photo source:

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/3e/45/f5/garibaldi-lake-from-panorama.jpg