Beaverhill Lake ( cr, script=Latn, amisk-wa-chi-sakhahigan) is a large lake in
central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy.
Geography
Central Alberta is bordere ...
, Canada. It is a site of regional importance in the
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
It is managed by the
Canadian Wildlife Service
The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (french: Service canadien de la faune), is a Branch of the Department of the Environment (Environment and Climate Change Canada), a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th ann ...
division of
Environment Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ( ...
.
It is located 70 km southeast of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, near the town of
Tofield
Tofield is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 14, Highway 834, and Highway 626. Beaverhill Lake is located immediately northeast of the community.
History
Before 1865, only A ...
, and lies in the hydrographic basin of 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 ...
.
As recently as 1990, the lake had a total area of and a maximum depth of only
Like similar "
prairie pothole
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR; french: Région des cuvettes/fondrières des prairies) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier act ...
" lakes, Beaverhill lake receded significantly after much of its headwaters were diverted, in recent years it has lost about one-quarter of its depth between 1999 and 2009.
The lake is an important bird habitat and has been designated as a "National Nature Viewpoint" by
Nature Canada
Nature Canada is a member-based environmental organization headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its supporters include more than 100,000 individuals and over 800 affiliated organizations, including local and provincial naturalist clubs.
The organ ...
(formerly known as the Canadian Nature Federation) in 1981. The Beaverhill Natural Area was established in 1987 to protect the lake and its surrounding area. Beaverhill Lake Heritage Rangeland Natural Area is also established on what were the shores of the lake.
[Alberta Community Development ]
Beavehill Natural Area
Beaverhill Lake Heritage Rangeland Natural Area
/ref>
The Beaverhill Lake Group, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
was named for this lake.
References
Beaver County, Alberta
Lakes of Alberta
Lamont County
Ramsar sites in Canada
{{CentralAlberta-geo-stub