| Wollaston Lake | |
|---|---|
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 NASA image of Wollaston Lake | |
  Wollaston Lake Location of Wollaston Lake in Saskatchewan  Wollaston Lake Wollaston Lake (Canada) | |
| Location | Northern Saskatchewan Administration District |
| Coordinates | 58°15′N 103°20′W / 58.250°N 103.333°W |
| Type | Glacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Geikie River |
| Primary outflows | Fond du Lac River (10%) Cochrane River (90%)[1] |
| Catchment area | 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Surface area | 2,681 km2 (1,035 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 20.6 m (68 ft) |
| Max. depth | 97 m (318 ft) |
| Water volume | 39.8 km3 (32,300,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Shore length1 | 1,475 km (917 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 398 m (1,306 ft) |
| Islands |
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| Settlements | Wollaston Lake |
| References | [2][3][4][5][6] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Wollaston Lake[7] (Woods Cree: ᒌᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᕽ, romanized: cîkahikan sâkahikanihk, lit. 'at hatchet/axe lake') is a lake in the north-eastern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is about 550 kilometres (340 mi) north-east of Prince Albert. With a surface area of 2,286 square kilometres (883 sq mi) (excluding islands; 2,681 square kilometres (1,035 sq mi) if islands are included),[6] it is the largest bifurcation lake in the world — that is, a lake that drains naturally in two directions.[8]
About 10% of the lake's water drains into the Fond du Lac River, which flows out of the lake to the north-west, where it drains into Lake Athabasca, which ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean via the Mackenzie River system. The rest of the water drains into the Cochrane River, which flows out of the north-eastern side of the lake and into Reindeer Lake, which drains via the Churchill River system into Hudson Bay.[1]
Wollaston Lake's main inflow is the Geikie River which flows from the south-west into the south-west section of the lake. If Hudson Bay is considered an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, then the Geikie is the largest river in the world to flow naturally into two oceans.
Wollaston Lake is also the largest lake entirely within Saskatchewan, although the Saskatchewanian portions of Lake Athabasca and Reindeer Lake are both larger.
Samuel Hearne learned of the lake in 1770 and David Thompson noted in 1796 the dual outlets as "perhaps without parallel in the world".[9] In 1807, Peter Fidler named the lake after George Hyde Wollaston, a member of the Hudson Bay Company's Committee and brother of William Hyde Wollaston.
The only settlement on its shores is also named Wollaston Lake. The settlement includes the northern hamlet of Wollaston Lake with a population of 129[10] and the adjacent village of Wollaston Post of the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation with a population of 1,251.[11][12][13]
- ^ a b Mitchell, Patricia; Prepas, Ellie E. (1990). Atlas of Alberta Lakes. ISBN 9780888642158.
- ^ "Principal lakes, elevation and area, by province and territory". Statistics Canada. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "World Lake Database (Wollaston Lake)". Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "LakeNet - Lakes". www.worldlakes.org. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Data Summary". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ a b Natural Resources Canada
- ^ Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. "Place names - Wollaston Lake". www4.rncan.gc.ca.
- ^ The Atlas of Canada – Parks and Environment
- ^ "The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details". Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Ministry of Municipal Affairs-Northern Settlement of WOLLASTON LAKE". Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "Statistics Canada. 2012. Lac La Hache 220, Saskatchewan". 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Saskatchewan wildfire forces emergency airlift – Saskatchewan – CBC News
- ^ "Wollaston Lake". Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2023.