Little Manitou Lake is a small
saltwater 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). ...
about 120 kilometres south-east 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
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 ...
. The lake was formed by receding
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s during the
most recent ice age. It is fed by underground springs, and has a mineral content high in sodium, magnesium, and potassium salts due to it being a
terminal lake. The salt content of the water (180 g/L)
[''Little Manitou Lake,'' The Canadian Encyclopedia]
/ref> gives it a salinity about half of that of the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
(300-400 ppt), allowing bathers to float easily.
The lake falls within the Lanigan-Manitou Sub-basin of the Upper Qu'Appelle watershed.brine shrimp
''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia L ...
.
History
Since the 19th century, native people have been bringing sick people to the lake they named after the spirit Manitou. The earliest known practice of using this water to heal was when some Assiniboine
The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
people afflicted with smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
were supposedly cured after drinking and submerging themselves in the water.[
Since the turn of the 20th century and the depression of the 1930s, Manitou has been a tourist resort due to its unique mineral waters. Since the late 1980s, the claimed health benefits and the buoyancy of the water have once again made it a popular tourist destination.
]Manitou Beach
Manitou Beach ( 2016 population: ) is a resort village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 11. It is on the shores of Little Manitou Lake in the Rural Municipality of Morris No. 312. It is north of Watrous and ...
has spawned an arts community, made evident by the founding of an Artists' Collective called "Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail". The Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail consists of an open studio / gallery weekend tour including artists/artisans from the localities of 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) ...
, Meacham, Watrous, and Manitou Beach.
Manitou and District Regional Park
Manitou & District Regional Park () is located eight kilometres north of Watrous on Highway 365. The park is split up into three different spots near the lake. At the lake itself, there's the beach, 500 metres south along Highway 365 on the west side is Manitou Beach Golf Club, and across from the golf course on the east side of the highway is the campground. Right beside the campground is the Jubilee Drive-In Theatre, one of only a few left in Saskatchewan. The others include the Prairie Dog Drive-in Theatre in Carlyle, the Clearwater Drive-In in Kyle
Kyle or Kyles may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ireland
* Kyle, County Laois
* Kyle, County Wexford
Scotland
* Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...
, the Moonlight Movies Drive-in in Pilot Butte, and the Twilite Drive-In Theater in Wolseley.provincial parks
file:Ischigualasto national park.jpg, Ischigualasto Provincial Park
A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countr ...
was founded at the lake. It was called ''Little Manitou Provincial Park''. In 1962, it was changed to a regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
Definition
A regional park can be a special park distri ...
. The founding of the original provincial parks was a plan by the government to get people working during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Several buildings were built, including a natural fieldstone chalet, which was used as a commercial tourist hotel. In the 1950s, the chalet was changed to Camp Easter Seal.
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 ...
* List of protected areas of Saskatchewan
This is a list of protected areas of Saskatchewan.
National parks
Provincial parks
The federal government transferred control of natural resources to the western provinces in 1930 with the Natural Resources Acts. At that time, ...
* Salt lake
References
{{authority control
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Endorheic lakes of Canada
Saline lakes of Canada