Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake and Lake Athabasca
Coordinates	61°40′N 114°00′W
Lake type	remnant of a vast glacial lake
Primary sources	Hay River, Slave River
Primary outflows	Mackenzie River
Catchment area	985,300 km² (380,600 sq mi)
Basin countries	Canada
Max length	480 km (298 mi)
Max width	109 km (68 mi)
Surface area	28,400 km² (11,000 sq mi)
Max depth	614 m (2,015 ft)
Water volume	2,090 km³ (501.7 cu mi, 1.694 billion acre feet)
Surface elevation	156 m (512 ft)

Mackenzie River drainage basin showing Great Slave Lake's position in the Western Canadian Arctic

Great Slave Lake (French: Grand lac des Esclaves) is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (behind Great Bear Lake), the deepest lake in North America at 614 m (2,015 ft), and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is 480 km (298 mi) long and 19 to 109 km (12 to 68 mi) wide. It covers an area of 28,400 km² (11,000 sq mi) in the southern part of the territory. Its volume is 2,090 km³ (501.7 cu mi,1.694 billion  acre feet). The lake was named for the Slavey North American Indians.

The Hay and Slave Rivers are its chief tributaries. It is drained by the Mackenzie River. Though the western shore is forested, the east shore and northern arm are tundra-like. The southern and eastern shores reach the edge of the Canadian Shield. Along with other lakes such as the Great Bear and Athabasca, it is a remnant of a vast post-glacial lake.

The East Arm of Great Slave Lake is filled with islands. The Pethei Peninsula separates the East Arm into McLeod Bay in the North and Christie Bay in the south. The only community in the East Arm is Lutselk'e, a hamlet of about 350 people, largely Chipewyan aboriginals of the Dene Nation.

History

First Nations were the first settlers around the lake, building communities including Dettah, which still exists today.

British fur trader Samuel Hearne explored the area in 1771 and crossed the frozen lake, which he initially named Lake Athapuscow (after an erroneous French speaker's pronunciation of Athabaska).

In the 1930s, gold was discovered there, which led to the establishment of Yellowknife, the territory's capital.

In 1967, an all-season highway was built around the lake, originally an extension of the Mackenzie Highway but now known as Highway 3.

On January 24th, 1978, a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite, named Cosmos 954, built with an on board nuclear reactor fell from orbit and landed in the lake. With all the ice and snow on the lake the satellite exploded on impact causing its nuclear fuel to fall over the area. The nuclear fuel was picked up by a group called Operation Morning Light formed with both American and Canadian members.

General Information

Other towns around the lake include: Yellowknife, Fort Providence, Hay River and Fort Resolution.

The lake is at least partially frozen during an average of 8 months of the year. During winter, the ice is thick enough for Semi-trailer trucks to pass over. Until 1967, when an all-season highway was built around the lake, goods were shipped across the ice to Yellowknife, located on the north shore. Goods and fuel are still shipped across frozen lakes up the winter road to the diamond mines located near the headwaters of the Coppermine River, Northwest Territories. A ferry is required to access Yellowknife during spring when the ice is not present in a solid sheet along Highway 3 where it crosses the Mackenzie River.

South of Great Slave Lake, in a remote comer of Wood Buffalo National Park, is the nesting site of a remnant flock of whooping cranes, discovered in 1954.

See also

• List of lakes by area (9)
• List of lakes by depth (6)
• List of lakes by volume (10)

Sources and further reading

Credits

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