Lake Athabasca

Lake Athabasca is a very large lake.

It sits in Canada. Most of the lake is in Saskatchewan. Part of it is in Alberta.

Many rivers flow into the lake. One is the Athabasca River. The water flows out of the lake. It travels north to the Arctic Ocean.

Many kinds of fish live here. There are 23 types of fish. One person caught a very big trout here.

Large sand dunes are near the south shore. People have lived in this area for a long time. It is a special place to see.

Lake Athabasca is a very large lake in Canada.

Most of the lake is in Saskatchewan. Some of it is in Alberta. It is the largest lake in both provinces. It is also the eighth largest lake in Canada.

Many rivers flow into the lake. The Athabasca River is one of them. The water flows out of the lake to the north. It travels through the Slave River and the Mackenzie River. Finally, the water reaches the Arctic Ocean.

First Nations people lived here for over 2,000 years. Long ago, people used canoes to travel to the lake. They could return home before the water froze. One of the oldest settlements is Fort Chipewyan. It sits on the western shore.

Many fish live in the water. There are 23 different kinds of fish. One person caught a world record lake trout here in 1961. Near the south shore, there are large sand dunes. These are the largest active dunes north of 58 degrees. They are part of a wilderness park.

The map shows where the lake sits in the north.

Lake Athabasca is a huge body of water in Canada.

It sits in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta. Most of the lake, about 74 percent, is in Saskatchewan. The rest, about 26 percent, is in Alberta. It is the largest lake in both of those provinces. It is also the eighth largest lake in all of Canada. The lake is the 20th largest in the world by area. It is a long lake with a very deep center.

Many rivers bring water into the lake. The Athabasca River is a main one. Other rivers like the Fond du Lac River and the Peace River also flow near it. The water does not stay in the lake forever. It flows out to the north through the Slave River. From there, it joins the Mackenzie River system. Eventually, all that water reaches the Arctic Ocean. This is part of a large drainage area.

People have lived in this area for a very long time. First Nations people have been here for more than 2,000 years. During the fur trade, the lake was a very important place. It was the furthest west that canoes could travel and still return before the water froze. European explorers like Sir Alexander Mackenzie visited the area before 1789. In 1788, the North West Company started Fort Chipewyan. This is one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta.

There are many interesting things to see and find here. The lake has 23 different species of fish living in it. In 1961, someone caught a world record lake trout here. Near the southern shore in Saskatchewan, you can find large sand dunes. These are the largest active sand dunes north of 58 degrees. They are part of a Provincial Wilderness Park. There are also places like Uranium City that grew because of mining nearby.

This lake is a part of a much older story. It is a remnant of a huge ancient body of water called Glacial Lake McConnell. The name comes from the Woods Cree language. It means "where there are plants one after another." This describes the many plants in the delta area. Today, the lake is still a major part of the land. It connects many different rivers and animals together.

Lake Athabasca is a massive freshwater lake located in Canada.

It sits in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta. The lake is divided between these two provinces. About 74% of the lake is in Saskatchewan. The remaining 26% is in Alberta. It is the largest lake in both provinces. It is also the eighth largest lake in Canada and the 20th largest lake in the world by area.

The lake functions as a central part of a large drainage system. Many rivers act as tributaries by flowing into the lake. These include the Athabasca River, the Fond du Lac River, and the Peace River. The water follows a specific path as it leaves the lake. It flows northward through the Slave River. From there, it enters the Mackenzie River system. Eventually, this water reaches the Arctic Ocean.

Geologically, Lake Athabasca is a remnant of a much larger ancient body of water. This ancient body was called Glacial Lake McConnell. The lake is long and reaches a maximum depth of 64 meters. It holds about 5,220 cubic kilometers of water. The lake's shape changes as you move across it. The eastern section narrows significantly near the community of Fond du Lac. This area is on the northern shore. The lake reaches its most easterly point at the mouth of the Fond du Lac River.

Indigenous peoples have lived in this region for more than 2,000 years. The name for the lake comes from the Woods Cree language. In Cree syllabics, the name means "where there are plants one after another." This name originally described the Peace–Athabasca Delta. This delta forms where the Peace and Athabasca rivers meet at the southwest corner. European explorers arrived much later. Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the lake before 1789. In 1791, a cartographer named Philip Turnor described the area as low, swampy ground with willow trees.

The history of the lake is tied to the North American fur trade. During this era, the lake was a vital location for travelers. It was the furthest west that canoes could travel from the east. This was because travelers needed to return before the water froze. The North West Company founded Fort Chipewyan in 1788. This is one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta. It was originally located at Old Fort Point. In 1798, the settlement moved to its current site on the north shore. Other groups like the Hudson's Bay Company also tried to establish posts nearby. They built Nottingham House on English Island in 1802. They also built Fort Wedderburn on Coal or Potato Island in 1815.

Lake Athabasca supports a diverse biological environment. There are 23 different species of fish living in its waters. These include walleye, northern pike, and Arctic grayling. In 1961, a world record lake trout was caught here using a gillnet. Near the southern shore in Saskatchewan, there are also large sand dunes. These are the Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes. They are the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58 degrees latitude. In 1992, they were designated as a Provincial Wilderness Park.

Human industrial activity has changed the environment around the lake. Uranium and gold mining occurred along the northern shore. This mining led to the creation of Uranium City in Saskatchewan. While the mines closed in the 1980s, they caused heavy contamination on the northern shores. Large oil sands mining nearby is also suspected to have added to pollution levels. In October 2013, a coal mine pit at Obed Mountain failed. This caused between 600 million and one billion litres of slurry to pour into local creeks. This waste traveled downstream for a month. It finally settled in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan, over 100 kilometers away.