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Lake Athabasca (/ˌæθəˈbæskə/; French: lac Athabasca; from Woods Cree: aðapaskāw, "[where] there are plants one after another")[6] is located in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is 26% in Alberta and 74% in Saskatchewan.

Lake Athabasca
Ice breakup on Lake Athabasca (June 9, 2002)[1]
Lake Athabasca Show map of Canada Lake Athabasca Show map of Saskatchewan
Lake Athabasca (August 24, 2002)[2]
Location	Division No. 18,  Saskatchewan / Wood Buffalo,  Alberta
Coordinates	59°22′1″N 108°0′4″W[3]
Lake type	Glacial
Primary inflows	Peace River, which backs up through Rivière des Rochers during flooding, Athabasca River, William River, MacFarlane River, Colin River, Fond du Lac River,
Primary outflows	Rivière des Rochers that meets with the Peace to form the Slave
Catchment area	271,000 km2 (105,000 sq mi)[4]
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	283 km (176 mi)
Max. width	50 km (31 mi)
Surface area	7,850 km2 (3,030 sq mi)[5]
Max. depth	124 m (407 ft)
Shore length1	≈1,900 km (1,200 mi)
Surface elevation	213 m (699 ft)
Settlements	Fort Chipewyan, Uranium City, Camsell Portage, Fond du Lac
References	[5]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

History

The name in the Dene language originally referred only to the large delta formed by the confluence of the Athabasca River at the southwest corner of the lake. Prior to 1789, Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the lake.[7][8] In 1791, Philip Turnor, cartographer for the Hudson’s Bay Company, wrote in his journal, "low swampy ground on the South side with a few willows growing upon it, from which the Lake in general takes its name Athapison in the Southern Cree tongue which signifies open country such as lakes with willows and grass growing about them".[9] Peter Fidler originally recorded the name for the river in 1790 as the Great Arabuska. By 1801, the name had gained a closer spelling to the current name—Athapaskow Lake. By 1820, George Simpson referred to both the lake and the river as "Athabasca".[10]

Geography and natural history

The lake covers 7,850 km² (3,030 sq mi), is 283 km (176 mi) long, has a maximum width of 50 km (31 mi), and a maximum depth of 124 m (407 ft), and holds 204 km³ (49 cu mi) of water, making it the largest and one of the deepest lakes in both Alberta and Saskatchewan (nearby Tazin Lake is deeper), and the eighth largest in Canada.[11] Water flows northward from the lake via the Slave River and Mackenzie River systems, eventually reaching the Arctic Ocean.

Fort Chipewyan, one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta, is located on the western shore of the lake, where the Rivière des Rochers drains the lake and flows toward Slave River, beginning its northward journey along the eastern boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park. The eastern section of the lake narrows to a width of about 1 km (.6 miles) near the community of Fond du Lac located on the northern shore then continues to its most easterly point at the mouth of the Fond du Lac River.

Fidler Point on the north shore of Lake Athabasca is named for Peter Fidler, a surveyor and map maker for the Hudson's Bay Company.[12]

Along with other lakes such as the Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake, Lake Athabasca is a remnant of the vast Glacial Lake McConnell.

Tributaries

Tributaries of Lake Athabasca include (going clockwise); Fond du Lac River, Otherside River, Helmer Creek, MacFarlane River, Archibald River, William River, Ennuyeuse Creek, Dumville Creek, Debussac Creek, Jackfish Creek, Claussen Creek, Old Fort River, Crown Creek, Athabasca River, Colin River, Oldman River, Bulyea River, Grease River and Robillard River.[13][14]

Development and environment

Uranium and gold mining along the northern shore resulted in the birth of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, which was home to mine workers and their families. While the last mine closed in the 1980s, the effects of mining operations had already heavily contaminated the northern shores. The large oil sands mining nearby is suspected to have added to the current pollution levels in the lake.[15]

On October 31, 2013, one of Obed Mountain coal mine's pits failed, and from between 600 million to a billion liters of slurry poured into the Plante and Apetowun Creeks.[16] The plume of waste products then joined the Athabasca River, travelling downstream for a month before settling in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan, over 500 km (310 mi) away.[16]

The Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, are adjacent to the southern shore. The dunes were designated a "Provincial Wilderness Park" in 1992.

Lake Athabasca contains 23 species of fish, with a world record lake trout of 46.3 kg (102 lb) caught from its depths in 1961 by means of a gillnet.[17] Other fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, goldeye, lake whitefish, cisco, Arctic grayling, burbot, white sucker and longnose sucker.[18]

See also

• List of lakes of Saskatchewan
• List of place names in Canada of Indigenous origin
• Peace–Athabasca Delta

References

External links

• Lake Athabasca and associated Sand Dunes
• International Lake Environment Committee, June 21, 2001
• Fish Species of Saskatchewan
• Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (Lake Athabasca)
• Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park

На других языках

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[de] Athabascasee

Der Athabascasee (englisch Lake Athabasca; französisch Lac Athabasca; Cree für „Wo es Schilf gibt“) liegt in der nordwestlichen Ecke der kanadischen Provinz Saskatchewan und der nordöstlichen Ecke von Alberta zwischen 58° und 60° nördlicher Breite.

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- [en] Lake Athabasca

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[es] Lago Athabasca

El lago Athabasca es un lago de Canadá, situado en el límite de las provincias de Alberta y de Saskatchewan. Tiene una superficie de 7.850 km², una longitud máxima de 283 km, una anchura máxima de 50 km, y una profundidad máxima de 243 m. Siendo por ello el octavo lago de Canadá.

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[fr] Lac Athabasca

Le lac Athabasca (ˌæθəˈbæskə; anglais : Lake Athabasca; du Cri des bois : aðapaskāw, « [où] il y a des plantes les unes après les autres »)[1] se situe à la frontière nord des provinces canadiennes de la Saskatchewan et de l'Alberta, entre le 58° et le 60° N.

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[it] Lago Athabasca

Il lago Athabasca è un lago del Canada, situato sul confine fra gli Stati dell'Alberta e del Saskatchewan. Ha una superficie di 7.850 km², una lunghezza massima di 283 km, e una larghezza massima di 50 km.

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[ru] Атабаска (озеро)

Атаба́ска[2] (англ. Lake Athabasca, фр. Lac Athabasca[3]) — крупное пресноводное озеро в провинциях Саскачеван и Альберта, Канада, между 58° и 60° северной широты[1]. Озеро имеет ледниково-тектоническое происхождение[4], занимает площадь 7850 км² и имеет наибольшую глубину 124 м. Его длина 330 км, а ширина от 10 до 50 км, это крупнейшее и глубочайшее озеро в Альберте и Саскачеване, восьмое по величине в Канаде. Вода из озера, вытекая через Невольничью реку и Макензи, попадает в Северный Ледовитый океан. Форт-Чипевьян, старейшее европейское поселение в Альберте, расположен на западном берегу озера, там где на север начинает течь Невольничья река. Около озера Атабаска находится несколько менее крупных водоёмов: Тазин (на севере), Клэр (на западе) и Блэк-Лейк (на востоке).

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