Abraham Lake, also known as Lake Abraham, is an artificial

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and Alberta's largest reservoir. It is located in the " Kootenay Plains area of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

' front range", on the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

in western

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Description

Abraham Lake has a surface area of and a length of . Although man-made, the lake has the blue color of other

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

lakes in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, which is caused by

rock flour Rock flour, or glacial flour, consists of fine-grained, silt-sized particles of rock, generated by mechanical grinding of bedrock by glacial erosion or by artificial grinding to a similar size. Because the material is very small, it becomes suspe ...

. Abraham Mountain, Elliott Peak, and the Cline River Heliport are located on the western shore of the lake.

Mount Michener Mount Michener, with a peak, is a mountain on the eastern border of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, Canada. It forms the northerly part of the Ram Range. The mountain sits on the shore of Abraham Lake and its north, west and south face are all ...

is situated on the eastern shore.

Mount Ernest Ross Mount Ernest Ross is a double summit mountain located in the North Saskatchewan River valley of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Mount Ernest Ross can be seen from the David Thompson Highway at the southern end of Abraham Lake. Precip ...

lies at the southern tip of the lake.

History

Abraham Lake was created by the former Calgary Power Company, now

TransAlta TransAlta Corporation (formerly Calgary Power Company, Ltd.) is an electricity power generator and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a privately owned corporation and its shares are traded publicly. It o ...

, in 1972, with the construction of the

Bighorn Dam Bighorn Dam (or ''Bighorn Hydro Plant'') is an embankment dam located in Clearwater County in west-central Alberta, Canada. It was built by Calgary Power in 1972, and led to the creation of Lake Abraham, Alberta's largest reservoir. The dam and ...

. Planning of the dam involved no evaluation of the social and environmental effects it may have caused and no public hearings were held prior to the construction. Construction of the Bighorn Dam flooded the Kootenay Plains and stopped the livelihood (hunting and fur trapping) of the Bighorn band of the

Stoney Nakoda First Nation Stoney Nakoda First Nation ( sto, Îyârhe Nakoda) is a Nakoda First Nations band government Alberta, Canada. It is located West of Calgary, in the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Stoney Nakoda First Nation comprises three Nakoda Tribes: * Bearspa ...

that had lived in that area. It had flooded their cabins, graves and pastures. The lake was built on the upper course of the

, in the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of the

, and lines

David Thompson Highway #redirectAlberta Highway 11 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11 and officially named the David Thompson Highway, is a provincial highway in central Alberta, Canada. It runs for from Highway 93 ...

between

Saskatchewan River Crossing Saskatchewan River Crossing is a locality in western Alberta, Canada. It is located within Banff National Park at the junction of Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway) and Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway). It is administered by Improvement Distri ...

and Nordegg. The

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

sponsored a contest to name the lake in February 1972, during the final stages of construction of the Bighorn Dam. Students across the province were asked to submit names taking into consideration "historical significance, prominent persons, geography and topography, and the value of the lake." It was eventually named after Silas Abraham (–1964), of the

and originally from

Morley, Alberta Morley is a First Nations settlement within the Stoney 142/143/144 Indian reserve in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located along the Canadian Pacific Railway between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Bow River, upstream from Ghost Lake. It has ...

. He was farmer and hunter who lived in the Kootenay Plains and later on the

Big Horn 144A Big Horn 144A is an Indian reserve of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, comprising Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations in Alberta, located within Clearwater County. In the 2016 Canadian Census, it recorded a population of 237 living in ...

reserve.

Phenomenon

Trapped methane causes frozen bubbles to form under the ice on the lake's surface. This phenomenon results when decaying plants on the lake bed release

methane gas Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ear ...

, which creates bubbles that become trapped within the ice, in suspended animation, just below the surface as the lake begins to freeze. The visual effects formed by the resulting stacks of bubbles, frozen while rising toward the surface, combined with the clear blue water, have made Abraham Lake a popular destination for photographers and nature observers. The ice coverage of the lakes varies throughout the winter. It usually freezes by the end of December but did not freeze until January in 2020.

References

External links

* Clearwater County, Alberta Lakes of Alberta Reservoirs in Alberta North Saskatchewan River {{CentralAlberta-geo-stub

Description

History

Phenomenon

See also

References

External links