Lake Hazen is often called the northernmost 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,...

 of 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...

, in the northern part of Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...

, Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

, but detailed maps show several smaller lakes up to more than 100 km (62 mi) farther north on Canada's northernmost island. Turnabout Lake

Turnabout Lake

Turnabout Lake is a lake in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located northeast of Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island, It is drained by the Turnabout River which flows into Lake Hazen....

 is immediately northeast of the northern end of Hazen lake. Still further north are the Upper and Lower Lakes, with Upper Dumbell Lake

Upper Dumbell Lake

Upper Dumbell Lake is a lake in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It is the northernmost named lake of Canada and of the world. It is located southwest of Alert, Canada's northernmost settlement, on the coast of Lincoln Sea, Arctic Ocean. The lake is roughly circular and in diameter....

 5.2 km (3 mi) southwest of Alert

Alert, Nunavut

Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, from the North Pole. It takes its name from HMS Alert, which wintered east of the present station, off what is now Cape Sheridan, in 1875–1876.Alert was reported to have five permanent...

, Canada's northernmost settlement on the coast of Lincoln Sea

Lincoln Sea

Lincoln Sea is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle line between those two headlands. It is covered with sea ice throughout the year, the thickest sea...

, Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

.

The northeastern end of Lake Hazen is 118 km (73 mi) southwest of Alert. Lake Hazen is the world's largest lake north of the Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 by volume. By surface area, it is third largest, after Lake Taymyr

Lake Taymyr

Lake Taymyr is a lake of the central regions of the Taymyr Peninsula in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian Federation. It is located south of the Byrranga Mountains....

 in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and Lake Inari

Lake Inari

Lake Inari is the third largest lake in Finland and the largest lake in Sápmi. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is 117–119 meters above sea level and it is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plant in Russia...

 in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. Lake Hazen is 70 km (43 mi) long and up to 11 km (7 mi) wide, with an area of 542 km² (209.3 sq mi). It stretches in a southwest-northeast direction from 81°40′N 72°58′W to 81°56′N 68°55′W. The lake is up to 289 m (948.2 ft) deep. The shoreline is 185 km (115 mi) long and 158 m (518.4 ft) above sea level. It has several islands, the largest of them being Johns Island

Johns Island (Nunavut)

Johns Island is an uninhabited island within Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. An island within an island, it is located in Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island within Quttinirpaaq National Park.-Avifauna:...

, which is 7 km (4.3 mi) long and less than 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) wide, also extending in a southwest-northeast direction like the lake itself. Other islands include Gatter Island

Gatter Island

Gatter Island is an uninhabited island within Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. An island within an island, it is located in Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island within Quttinirpaaq National Park. The smaller Clay Island lies off its southern shore....

, Clay Island (both close to the northeastern shore), Whisler Island

Whisler Island

Whisler Island is an uninhabited island within Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. An island within an island, it is located in Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island within Quttinirpaaq National Park....

, and Dyas Island

Dyas Island

Whisler Island is an uninhabited island within Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. An island within an island, it is located in Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island within Quttinirpaaq National Park. It lies opposite Wagon Hill....

 (both close to the southern shore). The lake is covered by ice about ten months a year. It is fed by glaciers from the surrounding Eureka Uplands (Palaeozoic rocks north of the lake, rising up to 2500 m (8,202.1 ft) above sea level), most importantly Henrietta Nesmith and the Gilmour Glaciers, and drained by 15 km (9.3 mi) long Ruggles River

Ruggles River

The Ruggles River is a waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located within Ellesmere Island's Quttinirpaaq National Park. The river is the only outflow for Lake Hazen. It flows southeast to Chandler Fiord and out to Lady Franklin Bay....

 which flows into Chandler Fjord on the northern east coast of Ellesmere Land. The lake is flanked by the Arctic Cordillera

Arctic Cordillera

The Arctic Cordillera is a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from Ellesmere Island to the northeasternmost part of the Labrador Peninsula in northern Labrador and northern Quebec, Canada...

.

The area around the lake is a thermal oasis within a polar desert, with summer temperatures up to 23 °C (73.4 °F).

The lake is part of Quttinirpaaq National Park

Quttinirpaaq National Park

-See also:*List of National Parks of Canada*List of protected areas of Nunavut*Arctic Cordillera-External links:**...

.

Artifacts of Thule civilization

Thule people

The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...

 were discovered near Lake Hazen in 2004. Thule preceded the Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

. In 1882, Augustus Greely discovered the lake during his expedition 1881-1883. Greely's base camp for the exploration was Fort Conger

Fort Conger

Fort Conger is a former settlement, military fortification, and scientific research post in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It was established in 1881 as an Arctic exploration camp, notable as the site of the first major northern polar region scientific expedition, part of the US government's...

 at the northeastern shore of Ellesmere Island, at 81°44′N 64°44′W, which was established as part of the first International Polar Year

International Polar Year

The International Polar Year is a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882-1883. Fifty years later a second IPY occurred...

. Hazen Camp was established on the northern shore of the lake in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

 (IGY), and has been used by various scientific parties since then.

Lake Hazen is populated by a larger and a smaller morphotype of Arctic char

Arctic char

Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...

. Recent studies indicate they are not anadromous, though Inuit traditional knowledge

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is an Inuktitut phrase that is often translated as Inuit traditional knowledge, Inuit traditional institutions or even Inuit traditional technology...

 states otherwise.

Named Inflows

All named rivers and creeks are listed in a clockwise

Clockwise

Circular motion can occur in two possible directions. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top...

 manner, starting in the south:

At the southwestern end (from south to north):

• Very River
• Adams River

On the northwest coast (from southwest to northeast):

• Turnstone River
• Henrietta River
• Ptarmigan Creek
• Blister Creek
• Skeleton Creek
• Snow Goose River
• Abbé River
• Cuesta Creek
• Mesa Creek
• Gilman River

At the northeast end (from north to south):

• Turnabout River
• Salor Creek

On the southeast coast (only in the southwest, near the southwest end of the lake):

• Cobb River
• Traverse River

Tourism

Hikers can start their hiking trips at Lake Hazen itself, or from Tanquary Fiord warden station at Tanquary Fiord Airport

Tanquary Fiord Airport

Tanquary Fiord Airport is located at the southern side of Tanquary Fiord, Nunavut, Canada, close to the end of the fiord. It is located within Quttinirpaaq National Park, and is maintained by Parks Canada. It serves as the main access to the park for tourists...

70 km (43.5 mi) southeast of the lake.