Steamboats on Kootenay Lake

In this activity, the students will examine the existence of communities in the Kootenay Lake, Arrow Lakes and Columbia River system in the context of their establishment and their existence today. Through research, the students will determine the factors that contributed to the establishment of the various communities in these areas in the 1800s and compare them to factors they contribute to the communities' existence/demise in recent times. The students will then examine the concept of what has changed and what has stayed the same in relation to these communities. Throughout, the students will examine the role the sternwheeler mode of travel played in the particular community's development. In conclusion, the students will assess whether the change they have identified contributed to the community's progress or decline.