West Hawk Lake
West Hawk Lake is located in the Whiteshell Provincial Park in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. The central portion of the lake is formed by the West Hawk crater, caused by a meteor impact into an ancient rock bed composed of mostly granite. Granite cliffs surround parts of the lake. This area is also known as part of the Canadian Shield that was formed billions of years ago. Parts of the Whiteshell park have elaborate petroforms that were made by First Nation peoples, possibly over a thousand years ago. There are petroform shapes of turtles, snakes, humans and geometrical patterns, often found upon pink granite ridges that were shaped during the last ice age.
| West Hawk Lake | |
|---|---|
 Satellite image (Landsat) | |
  West Hawk Lake | |
| Location | Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba |
| Coordinates | 49°45′54″N 95°11′16″W |
| Type | Impact crater lake |
| Primary inflows | numerous small streams and underground springs |
| Primary outflows | Whiteshell River |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 4.5 km (2.8 mi) |
| Max. width | 3.6 km (2.2 mi) |
| Surface area | 16.2 km2 (6.3 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 115 m (377 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 329 m (1,079 ft) |
| Islands | 12 |
| Website | Parks and protected spaces |
The lake has private cottages, public beaches, campgrounds and other tourism amenities, and extensive undeveloped shoreline, and is popular for boating, sailing, Wakeboarding and scuba diving. It is just north of the Trans-Canada Highway, and on the Trans Canada Trail, on the border of Manitoba and Ontario.
At 115 metres (377 ft), it is the deepest lake in Manitoba.
