Athabasca Lake is located in two Canadian provinces: northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan, on the edge of the Precambrian shield. With an impressive area (7,935 sq. Km) and a coastline of 2,140 km, it is the eighth largest in Canada.
General information about the lake
The lake belongs to two provinces at once and is the largest in Alberta and Saskatchewan (Canada), which owns about 70% of the water surface. It is located at an altitude of 213 m above sea level, the average depth is 20 m, the greatest is 124 m. The body of water is 283 km long, and the maximum width is 50 km. The rivers of Athabasca and Mira feed on the lake. Water flows along the Slave River and Mackenzie into the Arctic Ocean.
The origin of the basin of Lake Athabasca is defined as glacial-tectonic. It arose as a result of processing tectonic depressions in the earth's crust by a glacier. Along with the other largest lakes in Canada (the Great Nevolnichesky and Medvezhye), Athabasca is the remnant of the vast McConell glacier.
Lake history
The name of Lake Athabasca comes from the word athapiscow from the Cree language (the ethnic community of North America). By this term they denoted an open water area (swamps, lakes, etc.), along the banks of which willows, grasses and reeds grew. Together with other ethnic groups, such as Beaver and Chipeyan, the Cree people are the first to inhabit these lands more than 2000 years ago.
Initially, this name was applied only to the Athabasca Delta in the southwestern corner of the lake. In 1791, Hudson's Bay cartographer Philippe Ternor wrote the name Atapison in one of his magazines. Before him, Peter Fiedler in 1790 designated it as "The Great Arabusque." By 1801, there was a more or less uniform spelling that was as close as possible to modern - Lake Atapaskov. And only in 1820 George Simpson named the river and lake Athabasca.
The reservoir for them was a key point in the sale of fur. One of the oldest European settlements on the coast (in Alberta) is Fort Chipewyan, founded in 1788 by Peter Pond as part of the Northwest Company. The village was named after the local people of Chipeyan living in this area.
Flora and fauna of the lake
The lake is part of Peace-Athabasca Delta, a biologically diverse wetland located west of it. The Delta is an important migration point and nesting area for bird species such as the American Swan, Sandhill Crane, as well as numerous geese and ducks. In addition, about 80% of this territory belongs to the National Park Wood Buffalo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), which is home to the largest herd of wild bison.
Since 1926, fishing has been organized on Lake Athabasca. The catch consists mainly of lake trout, zander and northern pike. In addition to them, there are species such as grayling, perch, burbot, Arctic char. In 1961, with the help of a large gillnet, fishermen managed to catch trout with a record high weight - 46.3 kg.
Ecological problems
Lake Athabasca is rich in natural deposits. People did not lose sight of this. As a result, back in the century before last, active mining of uranium and gold began in these places. Numerous workers with families arriving on the lake founded the village of Uranium City on its shores. The last mine was closed in the 1980s, the consequences of mining severely polluted the northern shores of the reservoir. The situation was aggravated by several large oil fields located nearby. Gold mines on the lake are still in operation.
In October 2013, one of the coal mines collapsed and more than 600 billion liters of sludge fell into Plant and Aletovun-Crix. A plume of pollution also poured into the Athabasca River, heading downstream. Within a month, he reached the lake and spilled over more than 500 km.
The area where Lake Athabasca is located is very close to oil sands. This fact currently worries ecologists the most. Until 1997, the impact of production on the aquatic ecosystem was not controlled, and the effectiveness of monitoring is now in serious doubt, as it is funded by oil companies.
Despite some problems in data collection, recent environmental studies have shown a direct relationship between increased lake pollution and oil sands. An increase in the number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lake ecosystems near deposits was demonstrated. This causes concern, since substances remain in the environment for a long time and do not decompose.
Sand dunes
Another unique feature of the lake are the moving sand dunes located near the southern shores. In 1992, this amazing natural ecosystem was taken under state protection. Sand Dunes Athabasca Park is organized. It is located in Saskatchewan (Canada). The park extends over 100 km along the southern edge of the lake. Sand dunes have a length of 400 to 1500 m and a height of about 30 m. You can get to these places only on the water surface of the lake.