List of lakes of Alberta

Alberta in Canada
Ice fishing on Pigeon Lake

This is a list of lakes in Alberta, Canada.

Most of Alberta's lakes were formed during the last glaciation, about 12,000 years ago. There are many different types of lakes in Alberta, from glacial lakes in the Canadian Rockies to small shallow lakes in the prairies, brown water lakes in the northern boreal forest and muskeg, kettle holes and large lakes with sandy beaches and clear water in the central plains.

Distribution of the lakes throughout the province of Alberta is irregular, with many water bodies in the wet regions in the northeast and Lakeland County, and very few in the dry southeast.[1]

River basins

Most of Alberta's waters are drained in a general north eastern direction, with four major rivers collecting the water. Peace and Athabasca River are heading north and draining in the Arctic Ocean while North and South Saskatchewan River are heading east and draining in Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The smaller Beaver River in east-central Alberta flows into the Churchill system and then Hudson Bay, while the southern Milk River heads south-east into the Missouri River and to the Gulf of Mexico.[2]

Largest lakes

The area of Lake Athabasca that falls inside Alberta's boundaries is 2,295 km2 (886 sq mi) and is the largest water surface in the province. The largest lake completely in Alberta is Lake Claire, which is often overseen as such, due to its remoteness and the lack of human development in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

This is a list of lakes of Alberta with an area larger than 100 km2 (39 sq mi).[3][4][5]

Alberta lakes larger than 100 km2 (39 sq mi)
Lake Area (including islands) Altitude Depth max. Volume
Lake Athabasca[4] 7,850 km2 (3,030 sq mi) 213 m (699 ft) 124 m (407 ft) 204 km3 (49 cu mi)
Lake Claire[4] 1,436 km2 (554 sq mi) 213 m (699 ft)
Lesser Slave Lake[6][4] 1,160 km2 (450 sq mi) 578 m (1,896 ft) 20.5 m (67 ft) 13.69 km3 (3.28 cu mi)
Bistcho Lake 426 km2 (164 sq mi) 552 m (1,811 ft)
Cold Lake 373 km2 (144 sq mi) 535 m (1,755 ft) 99.1 m (325 ft)
Utikuma Lake 288 km2 (111 sq mi) 641 m (2,103 ft) 5.5 m (18 ft)
Lac la Biche 234 km2 (90 sq mi) 21.3 m (70 ft)
Beaverhill Lake 139 km2 (54 sq mi) 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Calling Lake 138 km2 (53 sq mi) 529 m (1,736 ft) 18.3 m (60 ft)
Pakowki Lake 123 km2 (47 sq mi) 860 m (2,820 ft)
Winefred Lake 123 km2 (47 sq mi) 594 m (1,949 ft)

List of lakes

Contents 
Lake   Watershed   Basin   Area (km²)   Remarks  
Abraham LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay53.7 man-made reservoir
Lake AgnesBow RiverHudson Bay0.52 glacial lake
Amisk LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay5.3  
Lake AthabascaSlave RiverArctic Ocean 7850 two thirds in Saskatchewan
Baptiste LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean9.8  
Barrier LakeKananaskis RiverHudson Bay 2.6 man-made reservoir
Battle LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay4.6  
Beauvais LakeOldman RiverHudson Bay0.9  
Beauvert LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean0.4  
Beaver LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay33.1  
Beaverhill LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay139  
Big LakeSturgeon RiverHudson Bay21.4  
Bistcho LakePetitot RiverArctic Ocean426  
Bonnie LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay3.77  
Bow LakeBow RiverHudson Bay3.21 glacial lake
Brûlé LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean14.5 lake is formed along the Athabasca River
Buffalo LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay93.5  
Calling LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean134  
Cardinal LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean50  
Chester LakeSpray RiverHudson Bay0.51 glacial lake
Chestermere LakeBow RiverHudson Bay2.7 man-made reservoir
Chip LakeLobstick RiverArctic Ocean73
Lake ClairePeace RiverArctic Ocean1436 largest lake completely in Alberta
Coal LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay10.9
Cold LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay373 partly in Saskatchewan
Driedmeat LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay16.5 Ribbon lake and glacial lake
Elbow LakeElbow RiverHudson Bay0.53  
Elkwater LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay2.31  
Frank LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay43.74 
Ghost Lake Bow RiverHudson Bay 11.6 man-made reservoir
Gleniffer Lake Red Deer River Hudson Bay 17.6 man-made reservoir
Glenmore ReservoirElbow RiverHudson Bay3.8 man-made reservoir
Gull LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay80.6  
Headwall LakesKananaskis RiverHudson Bay0.66 glacial lakes (0.45+0.21 km²)
Hector LakeBow RiverHudson Bay5.23 glacial lake
Hidden LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.4 glacial lake
Hoselaw LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay0.4
Jessie LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay5.5  
Kananaskis LakesKananaskis RiverHudson Bay14.40 Upper and Lower reservoir (8.40+6.0 km²)
Lac la BicheBeaver RiverHudson Bay236  
Lac la Nonne Pembina River Arctic Ocean 12.28  
Lac SanteN/A Hudson Bay N/A
Lesser Slave LakeLesser Slave RiverArctic Ocean1160 second largest lake completely in Alberta
Lake LouiseBow RiverHudson Bay0.8 glacial lake
Maligne LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean19.7 glacial lake
McGregor LakeBow RiverHudson Bay51.4 reservoir
Medicine LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean3.7  
Milk ReservoirMilk RiverGulf of Mexico 14 man-made reservoir
Lake MinnewankaBow RiverHudson Bay21.5 glacial lake enlarged by dam
Moose LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay40.8  
Moraine LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.5 glacial lake
Muriel LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay64.1  
Musreau Lake Kakwa River Hudson Bay 5.49  
Nakamun Lake Toad Creek Hudson Bay 3.54  
Lake NewellBow RiverHudson Bay66.4 man-made reservoir
Pakowki LakeMilk RiverGulf of Mexico 123.7 largest lake in southern Alberta
Peerless LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean82.6  
Peyto LakeMistaya RiverHudson Bay1.4 glacial lake
Pigeon LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay96.7  
Pinehurst LakeSand RiverHudson Bay35.4  
Primrose LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay448 mostly in Saskatchewan, 18 km² in Alberta
Pyramid LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean1.2  
Rattlesnake LakeSouth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay10.7  
Red Deer LakeBattle RiverHudson Bay 21  
Saskatoon LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean7.47  
Sikome LakeBow RiverHudson Bay0.4 man-made recreation lake in Calgary
Skeleton LakeBeaver RiverHudson Bay7.89  
Spray LakesBow RiverHudson Bay19.9 Dammed for power generation and first filled in 1950
Lac Ste. AnneNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay54.5  
Steele Lake6.61 formerly named Cross Lake because of its shape
Telford LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay13 One of two lakes in Leduc
Sturgeon LakeSmoky RiverArctic Ocean49.1  
Sylvan LakeRed Deer RiverHudson Bay42.8  
Thunder LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean7.03  
Utikuma LakePeace RiverArctic Ocean295  
Vermilion LakesBow RiverHudson Bay0.48 series of lakes along the Bow River
Wabamun LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay81.8  
Wabasca LakesWabasca RiverArctic Ocean161 South and North Wabasca Lake (61.6+99.4 km²)
Waterton LakeOldman RiverHudson Bay11.6 partly in Montana
Willow LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean 25.8  
Winagami LakeAthabasca RiverArctic Ocean 46.7  
Winefred LakeClearwater RiverArctic Ocean122.8  
Wizard LakeNorth Saskatchewan RiverHudson Bay2.48  
Zama LakeHay RiverArctic Ocean55.5  
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lakes of Alberta.
  1. Atlas of Alberta Lakes - Lakes in Alberta - University of Alberta Press, 1990
  2. Alberta Environment - Alberta's River Basins
  3. Atlas of Alberta Lakes. "Cold Lake". Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Principal lakes, elevation and area, by province and territory". Statistics Canada. 2005-02-02. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  5. "World Lake Database (Lakes in Canada)". Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  6. International Lake Environment Committee. "Lesser Slave Lake". Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
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