Blackstrap Lake is a man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in central

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 ...

, Canada, south of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in the rural municipality of Dundurn No. 314. The lake was created as a reservoir in 1967, as part of the Saskatoon South East Water Supply System. Blackstrap Lake has an area of (14.4 km x 0.8-1.2 km at a depth of 5.14 m) and is generally used to support irrigation, and the industrial and municipal water supply. The Blackstrap Coulee, or Valley, is an ancient spillway created by the melting of the

Wisconsin glacier The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

. Two formerly small and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

y lakes, Theresa Lake and Blackstrap Lake, were in the area now covered by the reservoir.

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

peoples used the valley for hunting and shelter. European settlers farmed the flat land of the valley during dry seasons. Some of this flat land forms the present lake bed and is an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) of Canada. The ''SK 078 Blackstrap Coulee'' IBA covers an area of and includes Blackstrap Lake and neighbouring Indi Lake. Blackstrap Lake is a major part of

Blackstrap Provincial Park Blackstrap Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the RM of Dundurn. Prior to the park's establishment in 1986, it was a provincial recreation site. The park runs along the eastern shore of Blackstr ...

. A recreation area was established soon after the completion of the lake, and further developed with a ski hill for the 1971

Canada Winter Games 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 total ...

. The provincial park was established in 1986.

Blackstrap North and South Dam

The drought during the

Dirty Thirties The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

prompted the construction of two dams, the

Gardiner Dam The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the third largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world. Construction on Gardiner Dam and the smaller Qu'Appelle River Dam was started ...

and

Qu'Appelle River Dam The Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two embankment dams: which created Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan, Canada. The larger dam is Gardiner Dam, the biggest embankment dam in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. Construction of b ...

, along the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

, creating

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Constructio ...

. The Gardiner Dam was built along the course of the river while the Qu'Appelle River Dam was built to allow for water from Lake Diefenbaker to flow into the

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

. A series of gravity-fed

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

and reservoirs originating from Lake Diefenbaker were also built to supply water to the areas south-east of

, with Blackstrap Lake being the largest reservoir. Blackstrap North and Blackstrap South Dams were constructed in 1967, and are operated by the

Saskatchewan Water Security Agency The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (before 2013, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) is an arm's length organization responsible for the management of water resources to ensure safe drinking water sources and reliable water supplies for eco ...

. Blackstrap North Dam has a height of 10.4 m and length of 1,370 m while Blackstrap South Dam has a height of 7.9 m and length of 1,116 m. The dams store water to supply the villages of Thode and

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

, the

PCS A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

potash mine (via the Bradwell Reservoir) and the

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

Colonsay Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll ...

potash mine (via Zelma Reservoir). The aqueduct, or canal, that feeds Blackstrap Lake originates at Lake Diefenbaker and passes through two other man-made reservoirs en route. The aqueduct starts at Gardiner Dam and heads south paralleling the South Saskatchewan River. East of the town of

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

, and just south of the village of

Broderick Broderick is a surname of early medieval English origin and subsequently the Anglicised versions of names of Irish and Welsh origin. It is also a given name. English origin A toponymic name the broad ridge and Bawdrip, a manor near Bridgwater ...

, the aqueduct flows into Broderick Reservoir. From there, the canal meanders in a north-easterly direction until it meets

Brightwater Reservoir Brightwater Creek is a river in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River in a region called the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Provinces and territories of C ...

. From Brightwater Reservoir, the canal heads straight north towards

Indi Lake Indi Lake is a man-made lake in central Saskatchewan, Canada, south of Saskatoon in the Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314. The lake was created for irrigation and recreation in 1967 by a dam located at its south end. The lake is part of a ...

. passing to the east of it and then under Highway 11 and into Blackstrap Lake. A canal exits the north end of Blackstrap Lake at the North Dam and supplies water to other reservoirs, such as Bradwell Reservoir and Zelma Reservoir.

Gallery

File:Blackstrap South Dam 01.jpg, Blackstrap South Dam File:Blackstrap South Dam 02 aqueduct.jpg, The Aqueduct that feeds Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap South Dam 03.jpg, Blackstrap Lake inflow from the aqueduct, near South Dam

Local communities

Local communities on the shore of Lake Blackstrap include two villages, two

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

, and a

Hutterite Colony Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Refor ...

. The resort village of Thode is on the western shore, near the middle, directly across from the main beach at Blackstrap Provincial Park It is home to approximately 156 people. Most of the people in Thode live either directly on the lakeshore, or have an unobstructed view over Lakeshore Road which separates them from the lake. The resort village of Shields is on the north-western shore and is home to approximately 172 people. It has a golf course, which includes a view of Blackstrap Lake, that is maintained locally by the community of Shields. Unlike Thode, only a portion of Shields is lakefront property. In addition to the full-time residents, Shields and Thode have summer cottagers which are not reflected in the population statistics. Skyview Estates are located south of Thode along the western shore of the lake near the south end and is accessed from Highway 11. Skyview Estates have a view of the mountain, Mount Blackstrap, and the lake, and are directly across from the Blackstrap Provincial Park campgrounds. Skyview Estates also have their own marina allowing the residents unlimited access to the water. However, the estates themselves do not actually connect to the shore. The other subdivision is located on the north-eastern shore along an arm of the lake and is part of the Lakeside Golf Resort.https://lakesidegolfresort.ca/ Hillcrest Hutterite Colony is located along Thode Road, just west of Thode. It was established in 1969 and is a division of the Leask Hutterite Colony.

Gallery

File:Blackstrap Lake 05.jpg, Pelicans at the southern end of Blackstrap Lake, across from the Blackstrap South Dam File:Blackstrap Lake 01.jpg, Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap Lake 02.jpg, Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap Lake 06.jpg, Blackstrap Lake

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Dundurn No. 314, Saskatchewan Dams in Saskatchewan Important Bird Areas of Saskatchewan

Blackstrap North and South Dam

Gallery

Local communities

Gallery

See also

References

External links