Cold Lake is a large lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in Northern Alberta

Northern Alberta

Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...

 and Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The lake straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and has a water area of 373 km² (144 sq mi). It is also one of the deepest lakes in Alberta with a maximum depth of 99.1 m (325.1 ft). It has around 24 known species of fish in it and is a major ice fishing lake. It is also major stop for many migrating birds, and is home to one of the largest warbler

Warbler

There are a number of Passeriformes called "warblers". They are not particularly closely related, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal and insectivorous....

 population in Alberta. A surface of 248 km² (95.8 sq mi) lies in the province of Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

.

Fish Species

Fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 species include walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, sauger

Sauger

The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae which resembles its close relative the walleye. They are members of the largest vertebrate order, Perciforms. They are the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers obtain two dorsal fins, the first is spiny and the...

, yellow perch

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, lake trout

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

, lake whitefish

Lake whitefish

The lake whitefish , also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also...

, cisco

Cisco (fish)

The ciscoes are salmonid fish of the genus Coregonus that differ from other members of the genus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high gillraker counts...

, burbot

Burbot

The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...

, white sucker

White Sucker

The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...

 and longnose sucker

Longnose sucker

The longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, is a freshwater species of fish inhabiting cold, clear waters in North America from northern USA to the top of the continent. In addition, it is one of two species of sucker to inhabit Asia, specifically the rivers of eastern Siberia...

. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan angling licenses are valid on the entire lake.

The city of Cold Lake

Cold Lake, Alberta

Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada, named after the lake it is situated near.-Geography:The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated,...

 is located on the shore. Excepting the western shore, the lake is surrounded by protected areas such as the Cold Lake Provincial Park

Cold Lake Provincial Park

Cold Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in north eastern Alberta, Canada.It is located 3km east of the city of Cold Lake, on Highway 28, and extends to the Saskatchewan border....

 in Alberta and the Meadow Lake Provincial Park

Meadow Lake Provincial Park

Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest recreational park accessed centrally through Goodsoil. The village of Goodsoil is located approximately 78 km west of Meadow Lake. The eastern entrance to the park is located north of Dorintosh. The western gateway into the Meadow...

 in Saskatchewan. The Cold Lake 149 A and B indian reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

 of the Cold Lake First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 are established on the western and southern shores respectively.

The Martineau River flows from Primrose Lake

Primrose Lake

Primrose Lake is a large lake in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. The lake straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, with most of the water surface in Saskatchewan. It is close to the better known Cold Lake, Alberta....

 into Cold Lake, which in turn discharges through the Cold River (Saskatchewan) in Waterhen River (Saskatchewan), a major tributary of Beaver River

Beaver River (Canada)

Beaver River is a large river in east-central Alberta and central Saskatchewan, Canada.Beaver River has a catchment area of 14,500 km2 in Alberta, where it drains the lake system in Lac La Biche County...

.