Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km²) 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 central North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, 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...

, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or simply 'Lake Winipigis'.

The elongated, 240 kilometre long lake is the second-largest of three large lakes in central Manitoba; the other two are Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...

, the largest, and Lake Manitoba

Lake Manitoba

Lake Manitoba is Canada's thirteenth largest lake and the world's 33rd largest freshwater lake. It is in central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which is named after the lake...

. All three lakes are on the floor of the prehistoric Glacial Lake Agassiz.

The lake's watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 extends over some 49,825 km² in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 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....

. Tributaries include the Red Deer, Woody, and Swan rivers. The lake drains through the Waterhen River

Waterhen River

The Waterhen River is a river of Manitoba, Canada. It is the primary outflow for Lake Winnipegosis and flows into Lake Manitoba....

 into Lake Manitoba, and is thus part of the Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...

, Nelson River

Nelson River

The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its full length is , it has mean discharge of , and has a drainage basin of , of which is in the United States...

, and Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

 watersheds.

The lake's name derives from that of Lake Winnipeg, with a diminutive suffix. Winnipeg means 'big muddy waters' and Winnipegosis means 'little muddy waters'.

The lake is famous for its commercial fishery of 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...

 and other freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 species. Northern pike

Northern Pike

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

 and mullet

Mullet

- Fish :* Mullet , or "grey mullets", of the family Mugilidae, of which the most widely known species is the striped mullet, Mugil cephalus* Goatfish, or "red mullets", of the family Mullidae; in particular, red mullets of the genus Mullus...

 together now account for over 80 percent of its commercial fishing. It is also well known for its migratory bird populations, which make it a prime hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 area in the fall.

Communities on the lake include Camperville

Camperville, Manitoba

Camperville is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Many Métis people live in this community. It is situated on Lake Winnipegosis....

 and Winnipegosis

Winnipegosis, Manitoba

Winnipegosis is a village of approximately 630 people, located at . Farmlands surround the town. There is a beach in town on Lake Winnipegosis. The Mossey River flows into the lake. Except for its lakeshore, it is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Mossey River. Once there was a thriving...

. Winnipegosis is a village on the south end of the lake. The population is about 700 people.