North Wabasca Lake is located in northern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, 322 km north of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and is the fifteenth largest lake in Alberta. The hamlet of Wabasca is located on the southeast shore of the lake, and along the path of the river flowing north from South Wabasca Lake. Two

First Nations Reserves In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Monarchy of Canada, Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benef ...

border the lake, Wabasca 166C in the northeast, and Wabasca 166B in the south.

Geography

Surface area of the lake measures and is over long and at its widest point. North Wabasca Lake averages in depth and is at its deepest. The South Wabasca Lake outlet and Willow River in the south are the primary inflows. The lake drains northwards into the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

by way of the

Wabasca River The Wabasca River is the largest tributary of the Peace River watershed in northern Alberta, Canada. The Wabasca River has a total drainage area of . Course The Wabasca River originates in the ''Sandy Lake'', north-east of Slave Lake, then ...

and is located in the watershed which comprises part of the south-central headwaters of the Mackenzie River System.

Ecology

Flora

Located in the Wabasca Lowland Ecoregion, the land in the watershed supporting the lake is mostly covered in forests of Trembling aspen,

Balsam poplar ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populus ...

, and

White spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii'', native to the Ro ...

. This is followed by shrub-land and grassland interlaced with areas of

muskeg Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...

and

Black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...

. Urban and industrial development make up a small percentage of the land use with agricultural use being almost entirely non-existent.

Fauna

Common sport fishing species found in the lake are

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 ...

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 ...

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 Samu ...

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 ...

and

Burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

. Other species of fish found in the lake include Northern Cisco,

White Sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is commonl ...

, and

Longnose Sucker The longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus'') is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in rive ...

. Over 25 species of zooplankton are found in North Wabasca Lake and are an important indicator of the health of the lake. Some examples of species native to the lake include

Rotifer The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

Cladocera The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms). Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...

, Calanoida Copepod, Cyclopoida Copepod, and

Nauplii Nauplius, Nauplia or Nauplios , may refer to : Greece-related * Nauplius (mythology), in Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Amymone, the father of Palamedes, and also the name of an Argonaut * Nauplia Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a ...

. These small and microscopic animals are an important link in the food web of the lake.

Conservation and development

The Southeast and Northeast shores have both seen extensive development by the hamlet of Wabasca and Wabasca 166B in the south and Wabasca 166C in the north. According to the 2016 Government of Canada Census, a total of 1680 people live on the lakes shores. There are currently no protected areas in the vicinity of the lake beyond small municipal parks. The lake hosts many recreational activities year round. Eli Cardinal Park features a concrete

boat launch A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

and swimming dock, while the Lions Club Campground further north provides a sandy beach and lakeside

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 ...

facilities in the summer months as well as an additional smaller boat launch. Fishing is popular and it is common to find ice fishing shacks on the lake in the winter months. Highway 754 runs south along the east of the lake and crosses the Wabasca river where the road meets Highway 813. It then runs along the southern shore of the lake, crossing the Willow River and heading on towards Slave Lake.

References

{{Authority control Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Lakes of Alberta Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17