List of lakes of Alberta

This is a list of lakes of Alberta, Canada.

PE
Canadian Provinces and Territories
Peyto Lake from lookout
Amethyst Lakes & ramparts
Fish Lakes (1 of 2)
Ice fishing on Pigeon Lake

Most of Alberta's lakes were formed during the last glaciation, about 12,000 years ago. There are many different types of lakes in Alberta, from glacial lakes in the Canadian Rockies to small shallow lakes in the prairies, brown water lakes in the northern boreal forest and muskeg, kettle holes and large lakes with sandy beaches and clear water in the central plains.

Distribution of the lakes throughout the province of Alberta is irregular, with many water bodies in the wet boreal plains in the north, and very few in the semi-arid Palliser's Triangle in the southeast.[1]

River basins

Most of Alberta's waters are drained in a general north or northeastern direction, with six major rivers forming four major watersheds collecting the water and removing it from the province:[2]

As with other basins on the planet, the topographical highlights in the drainage divides between these basins can be difficult to discern. For example, there is little elevation change in the short 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of land between Lac la Biche and Beaver Lake, yet the former is in a watershed that drains north into the Arctic Ocean, while the latter is in a watershed that drains east into Hudson Bay.

Largest lakes

Lake Athabasca is the largest lake in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. This 7,850 km2 (3,030 sq mi) lake has 2,295 km2 (886 sq mi) of its surface area in Alberta and 5,555 km2 (2,145 sq mi) in Saskatchewan.

The largest lake completely within Alberta is Lake Claire, at 1,436 km2 (554 sq mi). Lake Claire is just west of Lake Athabasca, with both located in the remote Peace-Athabasca Delta.

This section provides a list of lakes of Alberta with an area larger than 100 km2 (39 sq mi).[1][4][5]

Alberta lakes larger than 100 km2 (39 sq mi)
Lake Area (including islands) Elevation Depth max. Volume
Lake Athabasca[4] 7,850 km2 (3,030 sq mi) 213 m (699 ft) 124 m (407 ft) 204 km3 (49 cu mi)
Lake Claire[4] 1,436 km2 (554 sq mi) 213 m (699 ft)
Lesser Slave Lake[6][4] 1,160 km2 (450 sq mi) 578 m (1,896 ft) 20.5 m (67 ft) 13.69 km3 (3.28 cu mi)
Bistcho Lake 426 km2 (164 sq mi) 552 m (1,811 ft) 6.7 m (22 ft)
Cold Lake 373 km2 (144 sq mi) 535 m (1,755 ft) 99.1 m (325 ft)
Utikuma Lake 288 km2 (111 sq mi) 641 m (2,103 ft) 5.5 m (18 ft)
Lac la Biche 234 km2 (90 sq mi) 544 m (1,785 ft) 21.3 m (70 ft)
Beaverhill Lake 139 km2 (54 sq mi) 668 m (2,192 ft) 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Calling Lake 138 km2 (53 sq mi) 529 m (1,736 ft) 18.3 m (60 ft)
Pakowki Lake 123 km2 (47 sq mi) 860 m (2,820 ft)
Winefred Lake 123 km2 (47 sq mi) 594 m (1,949 ft) 15.3 m (50 ft)

List of lakes

This section provides a list of numerous lakes of Alberta, including the "large" ones shown in the previous section.

Note that the lakes are listed alphabetically by their main name, dropping any leading "lake", "lac", "lac la", "upper/lower", "north/south". For example, Lac la Nonne (the nun lake) is entered under "N". If desired, using the table sort function will give the list sorted by the leading word.

Lake   Watershed   Basin   Area (km²)   Remarks  
Abraham LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay53.7man-made reservoir
Adolphus LakeSmoky RiverArctic Ocean0.18a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Lake AgnesBow RiverHudson Bay0.52a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Amisk LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay5.3 
Angle LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay 
Lake AnnetteAthabasca RiverArctic Oceana contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Lake AthabascaSlave RiverArctic Ocean7,850two thirds in Saskatchewan
Baptiste LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean9.8 
Barreyre Lake
Barrier LakeKananaskis RiverHudson Bay2.6man-made reservoir
Battle LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay4.6 
Baxter Lakes
Bearhills LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay
Beauvais LakeOldman RiverHudson Bay0.9 
Beauvert LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean0.4 
Beaver LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay33.1 
Beaverhill LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay139Beaverhill Natural Area is part of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Lac la BicheBeaver RiverHudson Bay236 
Big LakeSturgeon RiverHudson Bay21.4 
Bistcho LakePetitot RiverArctic Ocean426 
Bonnie LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay3.77 
Bourgeau Lake    
Bow LakeBow RiverHudson Bay3.21a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Brander Lake
Brokenleg Lake
Buck LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay25.4 
Brûlé LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean14.5lake is formed along the Athabasca River
Buffalo LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay93.5 
Calling LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean134 
Cardinal LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean50 
Chester LakeSpray RiverHudson Bay0.51a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Chestermere LakeBow RiverHudson Bay2.7man-made reservoir
Chip LakeLobstick RiverArctic Ocean73
Christina LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean21.3 
Lake ClairePeace RiverArctic Ocean1,436largest lake completely in Alberta
Coal LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay10.9ribbon lake
Cold LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay373partly in Saskatchewan
Crawling Valley ReservoirSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay25.1man-made reservoir
Dowling Lake
Driedmeat LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay16.5ribbon lake
Elbow LakeElbow RiverHudson Bay0.53 
Elkwater LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay2.31 
Ethel LakeCold RiverHudson Bay 
Ewing Lake
Formby Lake
Frank LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay43.74 
Gadsby Lake
Ghost LakeBow RiverHudson Bay11.6man-made reservoir
Gleniffer LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay17.6man-made reservoir
Glenmore ReservoirElbow RiverHudson Bay3.8man-made reservoir
Gull LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay80.6 
Headwall LakesKananaskis RiverHudson Bay0.66contributing headwater mountain glacial lakes (0.45+0.21 km²)
Hector LakeBow RiverHudson Bay5.23a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Hidden LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.4a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Hoselaw LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay0.4
Hutch Lake
Ipiatik Lake
Isle LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay23known locally as Lake Isle
Jessie LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay5.5 
Kinikinik LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean 
Lower Kananaskis LakeKananaskis RiverHudson Bay6.0original lake expanded as man-made reservoir
Upper Kananaskis LakeKananaskis RiverHudson Bay8.4original lake expanded as man-made reservoir
Lessard Lake3.21
Lesser Slave LakeLesser Slave RiverArctic Ocean1,160second largest lake completely in Alberta
Lake LouiseBow RiverHudson Bay0.8a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Maligne LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean19.7a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Lower Mann Lake Beaver River closed basin 5.10
Upper Mann Lake Beaver River closed basin 4.59
McGregor LakeBow RiverHudson Bay51.4reservoir
Medicine LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean3.7 
Milk ReservoirMilk RiverGulf of Mexico14man-made reservoir
Lake MinnewankaBow RiverHudson Bay21.5a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake enlarged by dam
Moose LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay40.8 
Moraine LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.5a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Muriel LakeBeaver Riverclosed basin64.1 
Musreau LakeKakwa RiverHudson Bay5.49 
Nakamun LakeToad CreekHudson Bay3.54 
Lake NewellBow RiverHudson Bay66.4man-made reservoir
Lac la NonnePembina RiverArctic Ocean12.28 
Pakowki LakeMilk RiverGulf of Mexico123.7largest lake in Southern Alberta
Peerless LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean82.6 
Peyto LakeMistaya RiverHudson Bay1.4a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake
Pigeon LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay96.7 
Pinehurst LakeSand RiverHudson Bay40.7 
Primrose LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay17.7Most of the lake's surface area 444 km2 (171 sq mi) is located in Saskatchewan.
Pyramid LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean1.2 
Rattlesnake LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay10.7 
Red Deer LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay21 
Lac SanteHudson Bay
Saskatoon LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean7.47 
Sikome LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.4man-made recreation lake in Calgary
Skeleton LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay7.89 
Spray LakesBow RiverHudson Bay19.9man-made reservoir that was previously a string of lakes
Lac Ste. AnneNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay54.5 
Sauer Lake
Steele LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean6.61formerly named Cross Lake because of its shape
Sturgeon LakeSmoky RiverArctic Ocean49.1 
Sylvan LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay42.8 
Telford LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay13
Thunder LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean7.03 
Touchwood LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay29 
Tucker Lake6.65
Twin Lake24ha
Utikuma LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean295 
Vermilion LakesBow RiverHudson Bay0.48a string of three lakes along the Bow River
Wabamun LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay81.8 
North Wabasca LakeWabasca RiverArctic Ocean101.4[7]
South Wabasca LakeWabasca RiverArctic Ocean61.6
Waterton LakeOldman RiverHudson Bay11.6partly in Montana
Willow LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean25.8 
Winagami LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean46.7 
Winefred LakeClearwater RiverArctic Ocean122.8 
Wizard LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay2.48 
Wolf LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay31.5 
Zama LakeHay RiverArctic Ocean55.5 

See also

References

  1. Crosby, J.M.; Bradford, M.E.; Mitchell, P.A.; Prepas, E.E.; McIntyre, L.G.; Buckland-Nicks, L. Hart; Hanson, J.M. (1990). Atlas of Alberta Lakes. Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press. ISBN 0-88864-214-8. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  2. Alberta Environment Archived 2016-04-09 at the Wayback Machine - Alberta's River Basins
  3. Couture, P.; Pyle, G. (2015). Biology of Perch. CRC Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4987-3033-4. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  4. "Principal lakes, elevation and area, by province and territory". Statistics Canada. 2005-02-02. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  5. "World Lake Database (Lakes in Canada)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  6. International Lake Environment Committee. "Lesser Slave Lake". Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  7. ""Wabasca Lake Monitoring Project 2016 Factsheet"" (PDF).
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