Willow Bunch Lake

Willow Bunch Lake[1] is a salt lake in the southern region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake is in the Big Muddy Valley in a semi-arid region called Palliser's Triangle. There are no communities nor public facilities at the lake. The nearest town is Willow Bunch at 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south and access is from Highway 36.[2] The entire lake and its shoreline has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada.

Willow Bunch Lake
Willow Bunch Lake
Willow Bunch Lake is located in Saskatchewan
Willow Bunch Lake
Willow Bunch Lake
Location in Saskatchewan
Willow Bunch Lake is located in Canada
Willow Bunch Lake
Willow Bunch Lake
Willow Bunch Lake (Canada)
LocationRM of Willow Bunch No. 42 and RM of Excel No. 71,  Saskatchewan
Coordinates49.4582°N 105.5901°W / 49.4582; -105.5901
TypeSalt lake
Basin countries Canada
Max. length30 km (19 mi)
Max. width2 km (1.2 mi)
Surface area3,287.9 ha (8,125 acres)
Surface elevation662 m (2,172 ft)

Description

Willow Bunch Lake is shallow salt lake with a surface area of about 3,287.9 hectares (8,125 acres).[3] It sits in the Big Muddy Valley, which was formed over 12,000 years ago near the end of the last ice age when a glacial lake outburst flood occurred from a pre-historic glacial lake located at present-day Old Wives Lake.[4] In the summer, extensive mudflats develop at the east and west ends of the lake providing habitat for a variety of species, including the piping plover.

Important Bird Area

The entirety of Willow Bunch Lake is part of the Willow Bunch Lake (SK 020) Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada.[5] The IBA, which totals 152.14 km2 (58.74 sq mi), is important to the piping plover as it has one of the three largest breeding concentrations on the Canadian Prairies. The other two areas are Chaplin Lake (SK 033) and Quill Lakes SK 002. The provincial Wildlife Habitat Protection Act designated the entire Willow Bunch Lake basin as a critical piping plover habitat and the lake's shoreline up to the high water mark is protected from development. The population and breeding success of the piping plover depends largely on lake water levels. Being in a semi-arid landscape with no major inflows, Willow Bunch Lake is subject to widely fluctuating water levels and this becomes one of the main threats to the long-term success of the birds.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Willow Bunch Lake". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  2. "Willow Bunch Lake, Saskatchewan Map". Geodata.us. Geodata.us. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. "Willow Bunch Lake". Angler's Atlas. Angler's Atlas. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. Harel, Claude-Jean. "Big Muddy Valley". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. University of Regina. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. "Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas". Nature Saskatchewan. Nature Saskatchewan. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. "Willow Bunch Lake Willowbunch, Saskatchewan". IBA Canada. Birds Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.