Lac Seul is a large, crescent shaped

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 ...

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

, northwestern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. It is approximately long. It has a maximum (regulated) depth of 47.2 m, with a surface elevation of 357 m above sea level. Its level is raised in the summer and then drawn down in the winter months to reach points of as low as 16 feet below the maximum level. It is the second largest body of water entirely within the province of Ontario (

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon (; french: lac Nipigon; oj, Animbiigoo-zaaga'igan) is part of the Great Lakes drainage basin. It is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario. Etymology In the Jesuit Relations the lake is ...

being first). The lake consists of open water bays, narrow channels, and islands. It is a relatively shallow lake with many rock shoals. This provides a good habitat for

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 ...

(also known as "yellow pickerel") and

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 p ...

as well as

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

. During the Lac Seul project of 1968-1972 no muskelunge were noted in the catches of research nets set over those years. Significant numbers of whitefish,

tullibee ''Coregonus artedi'', commonly known as the cisco, is a North American species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. The number of species and definition of species limits in North American ciscoes is a matter of debate. Accordingly ...

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closel ...

and

cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

were noted as well although they infrequently were noted in the sport fishery. Lac Seul is noted for offering some of the best fishing in Ontario. Lac Seul is located on the former lake bed of Glacial

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, i ...

. Owing to this previous lake, much of the bottom of Lac Seul is covered with thick deposits of lacustrine silts and varved clay of varying thickness. The water of Lac Seul is tea colored. In clear water Walleye only feed at dusk and dawn because of their light-sensitive eyes, but because of the tea color of Lac Seul, it provides excellent Walleye and Northern Pike angling opportunities throughout the day. Lac Seul provides some of the finest trophy Northern Pike and Walleye and also provides access to the vast, practically untouched wilderness surrounding it. The numerous islands on Lac Seul are considered regionally significant calving habitat for the rare

boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxonomy), also known as woodland caribou, boreal forest caribou and forest-dwelling caribou, is a North American subspecies of ...

. The natural capacity of Lac Seul is augmented by the diversion of water from the

Albany River Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: *Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name * Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer to: ...

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, ...

at Lake St. Joseph, allowing hydroelectric stations at

Ear Falls Ear Falls is a township located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the English River, Lac Seul, Pakwash Lake and Wenesaga Lake. It is located along Highway 105, north of Highway 17 and Vermilion Bay, about halfway between H ...

where the English River leaves the lake, and Manitou Falls, 30 km downstream, to generate 90600 kW of electricity. In fur trade days it was part of a canoe route west from James Bay: James Bay,

, Lake St. Joseph, portage, Lac Seul, English River (Ontario), Winnipeg River, Lake Winnipeg.

Nearby communities

Ear Falls, Ontario Ear Falls is a township located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the English River, Lac Seul, Pakwash Lake and Wenesaga Lake. It is located along Highway 105, north of Highway 17 and Vermilion Bay, about halfway between Hi ...

* Goldpines, Ontario *

Lac Seul First Nation Lac Seul First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located on the southeastern shores of Lac Seul, northeast of the city of Dryden, Ontario. Though Lac Seul First Nation is a treaty signatory to Treaty 3, the First Nation is a mem ...

- Lac Seul 28 Indian Reserve * Lac Seul Post, Ontario *

Sioux Lookout, Ontario Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

* Wabauskang First Nation - Wabauskang 21 Indian Reserve * Hudson, Kenora District, Ontario

Tributaries

* Vermilion River

Nearby communities

Tributaries

See also