Meadow Lake is a small, shallow, oval-shaped lake that is the source of

Meadow River The Meadow River is a tributary of the Gauley River, making its headwaters in Greenbrier County and terminating in Nicholas County of West Virginia. It is named for the grassy meadows wetlands which its upper watershed drains, and from which it sp ...

and the namesake of

Meadow Lake Provincial Park Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park along the Waterhen and Cold Rivers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park was founded on 10 March 1959, is the largest provincial park in Sask ...

, despite not being within the park's boundaries. The lake is in the transition zone between the

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

and

prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

ecozones of Canada Canada has 20 major ecosystems -- ecozones, comprising 15 terrestrial units and 5 marine units. These ecozones are further subdivided into 53 ecoprovinces, 194 ecoregions, and 1,027 ecodistricts. These form the country's ecological land classifi ...

. Meadow Lake is situated in the RM of Meadow Lake with the city of Meadow Lake located along the western shore and

Flying Dust First Nation The Flying Dust First Nation ( cr, ᑳ ᐅᐦᐹᐘᐦᑳᐢᑕᕽ ''kâ-ohpâwahkâstahk'') is a Cree First Nation band government located adjacent to the city of Meadow Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. Highway 55 goes through the band's reserve ...

located along the north-west shore, adjacent to the city.

Highway 55 The following highways are numbered 55: International * European route E55 * Arab Mashreq route M55 Argentina * San Luis Provincial Route 55 Australia * Carnarvon Highway * Castlereagh Highway * Karoonda Highway Belgium * N55 road (Belgiu ...

runs along the northern shore and Highway 799, the southern shore. Highway 4 is west of the lake and provides access to the city.

History

Peter Fidler Peter Fidler (16 August 1769 – 17 December 1822) was a British surveyor, map-maker, fur trader and explorer who had a long career in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in what later became Canada. He was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire, ...

was the first European to discover the lake. He was a Hudson's Bay employee who was exploring and mapping the region in 1799 and upon the lake's discovery, he named it ''Lac des Prairies'' and built a 12 foot by 12 foot log fort. He named the fort

Bolsover House Meadow Lake is a city in the boreal forest of northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is about northeast of Lloydminster and north of North Battleford. Founded as a trading post in 1799, it became a village in 1931 and a town in 1936 ...

, after his home town of

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It lasted only one season before being abandoned and relocated to

Green Lake House Green Lake is a northern village in Saskatchewan, Canada. Its residents are predominantly Métis people. Green Lake is located northeast of Meadow Lake, and northwest of Big River. It lies in the southern boreal forest, and takes its name from ...

. While the exact location of the trading post is unknown, it is believed to be near the spot where Meadow River flows out of the lake. A monument was erected in Meadow Lake's Elk's Park in 1955 by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

to pay homage Peter Fidler.

Description

Meadow Lake is the remnants of a once vast

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

called ''Glacial Meadow Lake'' that existed near the end of the last ice age over 10,000 years ago.

, located at the north-west corner of the lake, is Meadow Lake's outflow. Meadow River flows generally north-east until it meets Beaver River, which flows into

Lac Île-à-la-Crosse Lac Île-à-la-Crosse is a Y-shaped lake in North-Central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Churchill River. At the centre of the Y is the town of Île-à-la-Crosse, the second oldest town in Saskatchewan. The Churchill exits the north-east arm a ...

, which is a lake along the course of the Churchill River–a major tributary of the

Hudson Bay drainage basin The Hudson Bay drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into Hudson Bay and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , the basin is almost totally in Canada (spanning parts of the Prairies, ce ...

. Meadow Lake is situated north of the

Meadow Lake Escarpment A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetation, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring ...

. A large part of the northern slope of the escarpment is within the lake's

catchment 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, the ...

and was also the southern limit of Glacial Meadow Lake. The following rivers and creeks flow into Meadow Lake: *Nolin Creek *Chitek River, which starts at Chitek Lake **Lavigne River **Alcott Creek ***Sulby Creek ***Myo Creek

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Meadow Lake No. 588, Saskatchewan Division No. 17, Saskatchewan

History

Description

See also

References