Lake Diefenbaker is a

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 contr ...

and

bifurcation lake A bifurcation lake is a lake that has outflows into two different drainage basins and thus the drainage divide cannot be defined exactly because it is situated in the middle of the lake. Examples Vesijako (the name ''Vesijako'' actually means "d ...

in Southern

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. It was formed by the construction of

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 the

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 ...

across the

South Saskatchewan 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 spectacula ...

and

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 th ...

s respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is long with approximately of shoreline. It has a maximum depth of , while the water levels regularly fluctuate 3–9 metres (9–27 feet) each year. Lake Diefenbaker provides water for domestic irrigation and town water supplies. The flow of the two rivers is now regulated with a considerable portion of the South Saskatchewan diverted into the Qu'Appelle. Prior to the dams' construction, high water levels in the South Saskatchewan would frequently cause dangerous ice conditions downstream in

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 ...

while the Qu'Appelle would frequently dry up in the summer months. Lake Diefenbaker is the largest body of water in southern Saskatchewan, although

Last Mountain Lake Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about north-west of the city of Regina. It flows into the Qu'Appelle River via L ...

is the largest naturally occurring one. The lake was named after John G. Diefenbaker, a former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

Recreation

Three provincial parks and four regional parks are located on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker:

Danielson Provincial Park Danielson Provincial Park is located at the northern end of Lake Diefenbaker in the southern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park surrounds the Gardiner Dam, which was built in 1967 and is among the largest embankment dams ...

Douglas Provincial Park Douglas Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Established in 1973, it is named after Tommy Douglas, the seventh premier of Saskatchewan and father of Canada's first single-payer, universal health car ...

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park (often shortened to ''Sask Landing'') is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the valley of the South Saskatchewan River at the western end of Lake Diefenbaker in the ...

Palliser Regional Park The Rural Municipality of Maple Bush No. 224 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 7 and Division No. 2. It is located in the southwest portion of the provin ...

Outlook Regional Park Outlook is a town in west central Saskatchewan, Canada about 80 km south-southwest of Saskatoon. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River downstream from Gardiner Dam and the Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station. History Settle ...

Cabri Regional Park The Rural Municipality of Riverside No. 168 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 8 and Division No. 3. History The RM of Riverside No. 168 incorporated as ...

, and

Prairie Lake Regional Park The Rural Municipality of Victory No. 226 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 7 and Division No. 3. History The RM of Victory No. 226 incorporated as a ru ...

. Recreational activities include

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

, and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

. The town of

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

contains a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

for boat storage and house boat rental. The only remaining ferry on the lake is the

Riverhurst Ferry The Riverhurst Ferry is a cable ferry in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The ferry carries Highway 42 across Lake Diefenbaker, linking Riverhurst on the east bank to Lucky Lake on the west bank. The ferry is operated by the Saskatchewa ...

, a

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

that operates across Lake Diefenbaker near Riverhurst, Saskatchewan.

Ecology

Lake Diefenbaker is home to 26 native and stocked fish species. These include

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 closely ...

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 ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

sauger The sauger (''Sander canadensis'') is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes.Jaeger, Matthew. 2004. Montana's ...

goldeye The goldeye (''Hiodon alosoides'') is a freshwater fish found in Canada and the northern United States. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hiodontidae, the other species being ''Hiodon tergisus''. The species name ''alosoides'' ...

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, ...

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 ...

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

lake sturgeon The lake sturgeon (''Acipenser fulvescens''), also known as the rock sturgeon, is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 25 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is a bottom feeder with evolutionarily basal tr ...

, longnose sucker, white sucker,

shorthead redhorse The shorthead redhorse (''Moxostoma macrolepidotum'') is a wide-ranging species in North America. The shorthead redhorse is native to central and eastern North America. However, its range has expanded to include areas like the Hudson estuary and ...

and

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

. Both the current world-record rainbow trout and world-record burbot were caught in the lake. The lake itself along with Battle Creek (Milk River) are the only two bodies of water in Saskatchewan that support a reproducing population of rainbow trout. The lake's sandy beaches provide appropriate habitat for the endangered

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead ...

. The long stretches of open water and poorly consolidated shore materials makes the

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

s vulnerable to

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

. Between 1968 and 1992 bank recession rates have commonly ranged up to 3 metres a year with higher rates in exposed areas.

References

External links

Lake Diefenbaker and how it operatesLake Diefenbaker Tourism Inc.Water Management
Fish Species of Saskatchewan

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Mistusinne.
Lake Diefenbaker Depth / Bathymetric Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diefenbaker Lakes of Saskatchewan Reservoirs in Canada John Diefenbaker Bifurcation lakes Important Bird Areas of Saskatchewan South Saskatchewan River

Recreation

Ecology

See also

References

External links