Dauphin Lake is located in western Manitoba near the city of
Dauphin, Manitoba
Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,457 as of the 2016 Canadian Census, with an additional 2,388 living in the surrounding Rural Municipality of Dauphin (RM), for a total of 10,845 in the RM and city combined. The ci ...
. The lake covers an area of and has a
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
of about .
The Mossy River drains the lake into
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...
. The basin is drained by seven major streams and has a total relief of .
The lake is located within the territory of three
rural municipalities; in descending order of area they are the
RM of Ochre River, the
RM of Dauphin, and the
RM of Mossey River.
Dauphin Lake was named after the
Dauphin of France
Dauphin of France (, also ; french: Dauphin de France ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' ...
, heir to the French throne, by
Francois de La Verendrye in 1739.
Hydrography
Dauphin Lake is located west of
Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba (french: Lac Manitoba) is the List of lakes of Canada, 14th largest lake in Canada and the List of lakes by area, 33rd largest lake in the world with a total area of . It is located within the Provinces and territories of Canada, Cana ...
and south of
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...
. It receives most of its waters from the west.
Mossy River Dam
Several efforts have been made to control lake levels in the last century. In 1964, the Mossy River Dam was constructed at Terin's Landing at the outlet of the lake. The ten bay concrete
stoplog structure complete with a
fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...
is operated by the Province of Manitoba. The summer target since 1993 has been 854.8 feet (260.54 m). The dam can restrict the outflow when conditions are dry and levels low but the river limits the outflow when the lake is high.
Regulation of the lake is difficult. Conditions can change very quickly. For example, a four-day rain in June 1947 produced an estimated peak inflow of . At normal levels, the Mossy River can only take out about .
Tributaries
Tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...
of Dauphin Lake include the
Turtle River, Kerosene Creek,
Ochre River, Edwards Creek Drain,
Vermillion River,
Wilson River,
Valley River
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
, Mowat Creek and the
Mink River
The Mink River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed December 19, 2011 lacustuary, or freshwater estuary, near the northern tip of the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin, in th ...
.
*Hind, Henry Youle (1860). '' Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857''. London: Longmans.
*1916:
' (edited by J.B. Tyrell)
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