Lake Diefenbaker

Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is 225 kilometres (140 mi) long with approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) of shoreline. It has a maximum depth of 66 metres (217 ft), while the water levels regularly fluctuate 3–9 metres (9–27 feet) each year. Lake Diefenbaker provides water for domestic irrigation and town water supplies. The flow of the two rivers is now regulated with a considerable portion of the South Saskatchewan diverted into the Qu'Appelle. Prior to the dams' construction, high water levels in the South Saskatchewan would frequently cause dangerous ice conditions downstream in Saskatoon while the Qu'Appelle would frequently dry up in the summer months.

Lake Diefenbaker
NASA satellite image of Lake Diefenbaker
Lake Diefenbaker
LocationSaskatchewan
Coordinates51°01′53″N 106°50′09″W
TypeReservoir
Primary inflowsSouth Saskatchewan River
Primary outflowsSouth Saskatchewan River
Qu'Appelle River
Catchment area135,500 km2 (52,300 sq mi)
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length225 kilometres (140 mi)
Max. width6 kilometres (3.7 mi)
Surface area430 km2 (170 sq mi)
Average depth21.6 metres (71 ft)
Max. depth66 metres (217 ft)
Water volume9.4 km3 (7,600,000 acre⋅ft)
Residence time2.5 years
Shore length1800 kilometres (500 mi)
Surface elevation556.8 metres (1,827 ft) above sea level (full supply level)
Islandsnone
SettlementsElbow, Mistusinne
References[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Diefenbaker is the largest body of water in southern Saskatchewan, although Last Mountain Lake is the largest naturally occurring one.

Lake Diefenbaker was named after John G. Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister of Canada.

Recreation
Lake Diefenbaker in fall, picture taken near Riverhurst, SK.
The Riverhurst Ferry

Three Provincial Parks and various Regional park are located on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker: Danielson Provincial Park,[2] Douglas Provincial Park,[3] Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park[4] and Palliser Regional Park, among others.

Recreational activities include fishing, boating and camping. The town of Elbow, Saskatchewan contains a marina for boat storage and house boat rental.

The only remaining ferry on the lake is the Riverhurst Ferry, a cable ferry that operates across Lake Diefenbaker near Riverhurst, Saskatchewan.

Ecology

Lake Diefenbaker is home to 26 native and stocked fish species. These include burbot, walleye, northern pike, lake whitefish, lake trout, sauger, goldeye, cisco, yellow perch, rainbow trout, lake sturgeon, longnose sucker, white sucker, shorthead redhorse and Atlantic Salmon.[5] Both the current world-record rainbow trout[6] and world-record burbot[7] were caught in the lake. The lake itself along with Battle Creek (Milk River) are the only two bodies of water in Saskatchewan that support a reproducing population of rainbow trout.

The lake's sandy beaches provide appropriate habitat for the endangered piping plover.

The long stretches of open water and poorly consolidated shore materials makes the shores vulnerable to erosion. Between 1968 and 1992 bank recession rates have commonly ranged up to 3 metres a year with higher rates in exposed areas.

See also

References
  1. "World Lake Database (Lake Diefenbaker)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  2. Danielson Provincial Park Archived 2011-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Douglas Provincial Park Archived 2010-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park Archived 2010-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Fish Species of Saskatchewan Archived 2015-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. IGFA All-Tackle World Record for Rainbow Trout
  7. "IGFA All-Tackle World Record for Burbot". Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
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