Churchill Lake

For other uses, see Churchill Lake (disambiguation).

Churchill Lake^[4] is a large glacial lake in the north-western part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the source of the 1,609-kilometre (1,000 mi) long Churchill River, which flows east into Hudson Bay.^[5] Frobisher Lake flows into Churchill Lake from the north through Simonds Channel^[6] and Peter Pond Lake flows in from the east through Kisis Channel.^[7] The outflow is at the southern end through MacBeth Channel,^[8] which flows south into Lac Île-à-la-Crosse.^[9] The lake can freeze from as early as November and remain frozen till May.^[2]

Churchill Lake
Churchill Lake at Buffalo Narrows
Churchill Lake Location in Saskatchewan Show map of Saskatchewan Churchill Lake Churchill Lake (Canada) Show map of Canada
NASA map showing Churchill Lake[1]
Location	Northern Saskatchewan Administration District
Coordinates	55°55′N 108°20′W
Type	Glacial lake
Part of	Churchill River drainage basin
Primary inflows	Kisis Channel from Peter Pond Lake Simonds Channel from Frobisher Lake
Primary outflows	Churchill River (MacBeth Channel) to Lac Île-à-la-Crosse
Catchment area	7,874 km2 (3,040 sq mi)
Basin countries	Canada
Surface area	559 km2 (216 sq mi)
Average depth	9 m (30 ft)
Max. depth	24 m (79 ft)
Water volume	4.88 km3 (1.17 cu mi)
Residence time	2 years
Shore length1	212 km (132 mi)
Surface elevation	421 m (1,381 ft)
Islands	McKay Island Allan Island Page Island Hay Island Eagle Island Akimau Island
Settlements	Buffalo Narrows
References	[2][3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The village of Buffalo Narrows is on the south-western shore near Kisis Channel and the Churchill Lake Indian reserve is at the northern end. Churchill Lake Outfitting is on the north-western shore.^[10] Access to the lake is from Highway 155 (which crosses Kisis Channel) and Buffalo Narrows Airport.^[11]

Historic map

John Franklin's 1819–1820 map

John Franklin's Coppermine Expedition map of 1819–1822 shows details of the fur trade route from Île-à-la-Crosse to the Methye Portage. Churchill Lake is shown as "Clear Lake" with its northern reaches still unknown. The upstream lakes on the map include Methye Lake (Lac La Loche) and Buffalo Lake (Peter Pond Lake). Clearwater Lake (or Clear Lake) was renamed Churchill Lake in 1944 and Buffalo Lake was renamed Peter Pond Lake in 1932.

Fish Species

The lake's fish species include: walleye, sauger, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, lake whitefish, cisco, white sucker, longnose sucker, and burbot.^{[12][13][14][15]}

See also

• List of lakes of Saskatchewan