Lake of the Rivers is a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is in the

Prairie Pothole Region The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR; french: Région des cuvettes/fondrières des prairies) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier act ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and five U.S. states, and within Palliser's Triangle and the

Great Plains ecoregion The ecology of the Great Plains is diverse, largely owing to their great size. Differences in rainfall, elevation, and latitude create a variety of habitats including short grass, mixed grass, and tall-grass prairies, and riparian ecosystems. Th ...

of Canada. The lake is long, narrow, shallow, and located in a valley that was formed by glacial meltwaters at the end of the

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. The north end of the valley opens up to

Old Wives Lake Old Wives Lake is a shallow saline lake in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 30 km south-west of Moose Jaw. The lake is fed by the Wood River but seasonal water relatively flattened the terrain, and as such results in significant ...

and south-east along the valley is Willow Bunch Lake. Beyond Willow Bunch Lake, the valley opens up into the

Big Muddy Badlands The Big Muddy Badlands are a series of badlands in southern Saskatchewan and northern Montana in the Big Muddy Valley and along Big Muddy Creek. Big Muddy Valley is a cleft of erosion and sandstone that is long, wide, and deep. Big Muddy V ...

. The closest town to Lake of the Rivers, Assiniboia, is about west of the southern end of the lake. The lake spans two rural municipalities, Lake of the Rivers No. 72 and Lake Johnston No. 102, and sits at the northern slope of the

Missouri Coteau The Missouri Coteau, or Missouri Plateau, (french: Coteau du Missouri) is a large plateau that stretches along the eastern side of the valley of the Missouri River in central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota in the United States. In t ...

. The hamlet of Ardill and Highways 715 and 2 are at the northern end of the lake while Highway 717 is at the southern end. Less than from the southern end of the lake is the community of

Willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and Willows Reservoir. A section of Assiniboia Regional Park is at the reservoir and the river leaving the reservoir is a tributary of Lake of the Rivers.

References

{{Saskatchewan-geo-stub Lakes of Saskatchewan Lake of the Rivers No. 72, Saskatchewan Lake Johnston No. 102, Saskatchewan Saline lakes of Canada

See also

References