Big Shell Lake is a lake in the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. Officially known as Shell Lake, it is commonly called ''Big'' Shell Lake to differentiate it from Little Shell Lake, which is about downstream. Big Shell Lake is in the
RM of Spiritwood No. 496
The Rural Municipality of Spiritwood No. 496 (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, rural municipality (RM) in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within ...
and the
resort villages of
Big Shell and
Echo Bay are on the south-eastern and eastern shore. Access to the lake and the villages is from
Highway 12
Route 12 or Highway 12 can refer to:
For a list of roads named A12, see A12 roads.
International
* Asian Highway 12
* European route E12
* European route E012
Argentina
* National Route 12
Australia NSW
* Western Sydney Airport Motorway ( ...
.
Big Shell Lake is the source of
Shell River (formally ''Shell Brook''). The lake's main inflow begins in the Thickwood Hills and flows east into the south-western corner of the lake.
Big Shell Lake Recreation Site
Big Shell Lake Recreation Site () is a
provincial recreation site on the north-west corner of the lake. The park has a dock, boat launch, and a campground with 12 full-service campsites, two electrified sites, and one tenting site.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in the lake include
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 ...
,
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
,
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
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
.
See also
*
List of lakes of Saskatchewan
This is a list of lakes of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada. The largest and most notable lakes are listed at the start, followed by an alphabetical listing of other lakes of the province.
Larger lake statistics
"The total area of a lak ...
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan There are numerous heritages and cultural attractions in the province of Saskatchewan. Museums, dinosaur digs, aboriginal cultural and heritage sites, art galleries, professional sport venues, spas, handcraft, antique and tea shops, agricultural t ...
References
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Spiritwood No. 496, Saskatchewan
{{Saskatchewan-geo-stub