Lake Diefenbaker
Encyclopedia
Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir
in Southern Saskatchewan
, Canada
. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam
and the Qu'Appelle River Dam
across the South Saskatchewan
and Qu'Appelle River
s respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is 225 kilometres (139.8 mi) long with approximately 800 kilometres (497.1 mi) of shoreline. It has a maximum depth of 66 metres (216.5 ft), while the water levels regularly fluctuate 3–9 metres (9–27 feet) each year. Lake Diefenbaker provides water for domestic irrigation and town water supplies. The flow of the two rivers is now regulated with a considerable portion of the South Saskatchewan diverted into the Qu'Appelle. Prior to the dams' construction, high water levels in the South Saskatchewan would frequently cause dangerous ice conditions downstream in Saskatoon
while the Qu'Appelle would frequenly dry up in the summer months.
Lake Diefenbaker is the largest body of water in southern Saskatchewan, although Last Mountain Lake
is the largest naturally occurring one.
Lake Diefenbaker was named after John G. Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister of Canada
.
Three Provincial Parks and various Regional park are located on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker: Danielson Provincial Park, Douglas Provincial Park, Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park and Palliser Regional Park
, among others.
Recreational activities include fishing
, boating
and camping
. The town of Elbow, Saskatchewan
contains a marina
for boat storage and house boat rental.
The only remaining ferry on the lake is the Riverhurst Ferry
, a cable ferry
that operates across Lake Diefenbaker near Riverhurst
, Saskatchewan.
, walleye
, northern pike
, lake whitefish
, lake trout
, sauger
, goldeye
, cisco
, yellow perch
, atlantic salmon
, rainbow trout
, lake sturgeon
, longnose sucker
, white sucker
and shorthead redhorse
. Both the current world-record rainbow trout and world-record burbot were caught in the lake. The lake itself along with Battle Creek (Milk River)
are the only two bodies of water in Saskatchewan that support a reproducing population of rainbow trout.
The lake's sandy beaches provide appropriate habitat for the endangered piping plover
.
The long stretches of open water and poorly consolidated shore materials makes the shore
s vulnerable to erosion
. Between 1968 and 1992 bank recession rates have commonly ranged up to 3 metres a year with higher rates in exposed areas.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in Southern 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...
. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam
Gardiner Dam
The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world...
and the Qu'Appelle River Dam
Qu'Appelle River Dam
The Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two embankment dams: which created Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan, Canada. The larger dam is Gardiner Dam, the biggest embankment dam in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. Construction of both dams began in the 1959 and was completed in 1967...
across the South Saskatchewan
South Saskatchewan River
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
and Qu'Appelle River
Qu'Appelle River
The Qu'Appelle River is a Canadian river that flows 430 km east from Lake Diefenbaker in southwestern Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near the village of St. Lazare....
s respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is 225 kilometres (139.8 mi) long with approximately 800 kilometres (497.1 mi) of shoreline. It has a maximum depth of 66 metres (216.5 ft), while the water levels regularly fluctuate 3–9 metres (9–27 feet) each year. Lake Diefenbaker provides water for domestic irrigation and town water supplies. The flow of the two rivers is now regulated with a considerable portion of the South Saskatchewan diverted into the Qu'Appelle. Prior to the dams' construction, high water levels in the South Saskatchewan would frequently cause dangerous ice conditions downstream in Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
while the Qu'Appelle would frequenly dry up in the summer months.
Lake Diefenbaker is the largest body of water in southern Saskatchewan, although Last Mountain Lake
Last Mountain Lake
Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 40 km northwest of the city of Regina adjacent to the Qu'Appelle Valley, which it flows south into through Last Mountain Creek...
is the largest naturally occurring one.
Lake Diefenbaker was named after John G. Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
.
Recreation
Palliser Regional Park
Palliser Regional Park is a located about 10 minutes from the town of Riverhurst, Saskatchewan. It contains about 270 campsites. The park has a hotel, golf course and a marina.-External links:...
, among others.
Recreational activities include fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
and camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
. The town of Elbow, Saskatchewan
Elbow, Saskatchewan
- See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* Villages of Saskatchewan* Elbow-External links:*** Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan-Footnotes:...
contains a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
for boat storage and house boat rental.
The only remaining ferry on the lake is the Riverhurst Ferry
Riverhurst Ferry
The Riverhurst Ferry is a cable ferry in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The ferry crosses Lake Diefenbaker, linking Riverhurst on the west bank to Lucky Lake on the east bank. The ferry is how Highway 42 crosses Lake Diefenbaker....
, a cable ferry
Cable ferry
A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....
that operates across Lake Diefenbaker near Riverhurst
Riverhurst, Saskatchewan
Riverhurst is a village in the south-west Coteau Hills area of Saskatchewan, Canada and is north of Vermillion Hills. It is primarily a farming community....
, Saskatchewan.
Ecology
Lake Diefenbaker is home to 26 native and stocked fish species. These include burbotBurbot
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...
, 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...
, northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, goldeye
Goldeye
The goldeye, Hiodon alosoides, is a species of fish in the mooneye family . It occurs from as far down the Mackenzie River as Aklavik in the north to Mississippi in the south, and from Alberta in the west to Ohio south of the Great Lakes, with an isolated population south of James Bay. It is...
, 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...
, 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...
, atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....
, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, lake sturgeon
Lake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
, 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...
, 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 shorthead redhorse
Shorthead redhorse
-Introduction:The Shorthead Redhorse is a wide-ranging species in North America that needs to be monitored throughout its range. The Shorthead Redhorse is native to central and eastern North America. However, its range has expanded to include areas like the Hudson estuary and Grayson County, Texas...
. Both the current world-record rainbow trout and world-record burbot were caught in the lake. The lake itself along with Battle Creek (Milk River)
Battle Creek (Milk River)
Battle Creek is a stream that begins in southeastern Alberta along the border with Saskatchewan, in the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.It flows into the Milk River in Blaine County, Montana...
are the only two bodies of water in Saskatchewan that support a reproducing population of rainbow trout.
The lake's sandy beaches provide appropriate habitat for the endangered piping plover
Piping Plover
The Piping Plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck...
.
The long stretches of open water and poorly consolidated shore materials makes the shore
Shore
A shore or shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In Physical Oceanography a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past and present, while the beach is at the edge of the shore,...
s vulnerable to erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. Between 1968 and 1992 bank recession rates have commonly ranged up to 3 metres a year with higher rates in exposed areas.
See also
- Gardiner DamGardiner DamThe Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world...
- Qu'Appelle River DamQu'Appelle River DamThe Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two embankment dams: which created Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan, Canada. The larger dam is Gardiner Dam, the biggest embankment dam in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. Construction of both dams began in the 1959 and was completed in 1967...
- ElbowElbow, Saskatchewan- See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* Villages of Saskatchewan* Elbow-External links:*** Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan-Footnotes:...
- Bifurcation lakeBifurcation lakeBifurcation lake is a lake that naturally has outflows into two different drainage basins and thus the drainage divide cannot be defined exactly because it is situated in the middle of the lake.-Examples:...
External links
- Lake Diefenbaker and how it operates
- Lake Diefenbaker Tourism Inc.
- Water Management
- http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/details.cfm?p=11115 Fish Species of Saskatchewan
- http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/lake_diefenbaker.html Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan