Bistcho Lake is a large

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 ...

in northwestern

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 ...

. Bistcho Lake has a total area of (with islands area and water surface), and lies at an elevation of . It is the third largest lake in Alberta. Bistcho Lake is located in the hydrographic basin of the

Liard River The Liard River of the North American boreal forest flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Co ...

, to which it is connected by the

Petitot River Petitot is a river in northern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. It is a tributary of the Liard River. Petitot River originates from Bistcho Lake in northwestern Alberta, and flows westwards along the northern borders of Alberta and Bri ...

. The waters of the lake drain to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

through the Petitot, Liard and Mackenzie River. The Jackfish Point and Bistcho Lake

indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

s of the Dene Tha'

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

are established on the southern shore of the lake. In May of 2021 the Dene Tha' First Nation formally proposed an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) that would be centred on the lake but include much of the northwestern corner of Alberta. In preparation for the proposed IPCA, the First Nation did extensive archaeological surveys of the shores of the lake, demonstrating continuous use of the lake by indigenous hunters and fishers for thousands of years.

References

Bistcho Mackenzie County {{northernAlberta-geo-stub

See also

References