Buffalo 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 central

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 ...

. It is located in at the limit between

Camrose County Camrose County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 10, around the City of Camrose. Geography Communities and localities The following urban municipalities are surrounded by Camrose Cou ...

, the County of Stettler No. 6 and

Lacombe County Lacombe County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada. It is within in Census Division No. 8 north of the City of Red Deer. Its municipal office is west of Highway 2 and the City of Lacombe, and east of the Summer Village of ...

, approximately east of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

. The lake lies in the

Red Deer River The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan-Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay. Red Deer River ...

basin, and has a water surface of 93.5 km² and a drainage area of 1,440 km². The recreational areas of ''Boss Hill'', Rochon Sands, ''White Sands, Scenic Sands, Buffalo Sands. Pelican Point, Pelican View Estates (PVE)'', and ''The Narrows'' are established on the shores of the lake, as is the

Rochon Sands Provincial Park Rochon Sands Provincial Park is a provincial park that is in Alberta, Canada. It is located on the south shore of Buffalo Lake, within the summer village of Rochon Sands, which operates the park under a lease agreement with the Province of Albert ...

. Buffalo Lake is unique in Alberta in that it is actively "managed" via actively controlled inflow pumped in from the Red Deer River via Parlby Creek and outflow back into the Red Deer River via Tali Creek. Due to the lake's shallow and lack of natural outflows, its level would fluctuate more than other lakes so projects to manage the lakes water level were built and began operation in 1996. The lake has three main bays: First is the larger Main Bay which is 6.5 meters at its deepest point and has two islands. Second is Secondary Bay which is smaller than main bay and has one large island which is privately owned. Last is Parlby Bay (also known as mirror bay) which Is a lot smaller than the other bays and has

Parlby Creek Parlby is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Irene Parlby (1868–1965), Canadian women's farm leader, activist, and politician * Joshua Parlby (1855–?), English football manager * Thomas Parlby (1727–1802), British civil en ...

flowing through it. The lake supports a decent amount of

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

and

Burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

. There is also another shallow bay at the most northern part of the lake called Jarvis Bay.

References

External links

Buffalo Lake Management TeamBuffalo Lake Intermunicipal Development Plan, Stettler
Camrose County Lacombe County Lakes of Alberta County of Stettler No. 6 {{centralAlberta-geo-stub