Oak Lake is a lake in the south-western part of 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 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

in a region called Westman. Oak Lake is a kettle lake and is an aquifer supplier for numerous nearby residential areas and farms. The lake is in the RM of Sifton and sits at an elevation of 426 metres above sea level. Provincial Road 254 provides access to the lake. At , Oak Lake is the largest lake in the region and its primary surface inflow is

Pipestone Creek Pipestone Creek is a waterway that runs through central Alberta, Canada. For example, over of Pipestone Creek parkland is situated in Millet, Alberta, with a combination of meadows and urban forest. It originates east of Pigeon Lake and flows ea ...

, which originates in

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 ...

. Pipestone Creek enters the lake in the north-west corner through Oak Lake Marsh, which itself is four times the size of Oak Lake. At the southern end of the lake is Oak Lake Dam (49°38′27″N, 100°45′8″W). While Oak Lake is not a man-made lake, the dam is used to regulate water levels. Water flows past the dam and into the Plum Lakes, which in turn are drained by Plum Creek and on into the Souris River. The Souris River is part of the Red River

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, t ...

, which is part of the Hudson Bay drainage basin. There are no large settlements on the lake. On the north shore is Cherry Point and along the eastern shore is

Oak Lake Beach Oak Lake Beach is a community in the Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the shore of Oak Lake. It is located within the Rural Municipality of Sifton. See also *List of communities in Manitoba Communities in the Province of Manitoba, C ...

. The community of Oak Lake is about away as the crow flies, or about by car.

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, the closest major city, is away.

Parks and recreation

Besides the two communities on the lake, there's Oak Lake Provincial Park, a marina, and Oak Island Resort. The resort features full-service camping, 18-hole mini golf, a swimming pool, and an 18-hole golf course. The provincial park is a day-use park that has two playgrounds for kids, beach access, walking trails, baseball diamonds, a basketball court, beach volleyball, and group shelters for picnics. Oak Lake Beach, the marina, Oak Island Resort, and Oak Lake Provincial Park, are all on Oak Lake Island, which is an island that makes up much of the eastern side of the lake. It is connected to the mainland by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

. The whole lake itself is designated Oak Lake Canada Goose Refuge and at the south end of the lake is Oak Lake Game Bird Refuge. Nearby, to the east are the Oak Lake Sand Hills, which are a

Nature Conservancy of Canada The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a private, non-profit, charitable nature conservation and restoration organization based in Canada. Since its founding in 1962, the organization and its partners have protected of land and water across ...

protected site; to the south are the Lauder Sand Hills, which are a Wildlife Management Area; and to the south-east are the Souris Sand Hills. Oak Lake, Oak Lake Marsh, Maple Lake, Plum Lakes, and Lauder Sand Hills, are all part of Important Bird Area (IBA) Canada called Oak Lake / Plum Lakes Area. This IBA is a very important breeding ground and stop-over for migrating birds and it covers of habitat.

Oak Lake Aquifer

Oak Lake Aquifer is an

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

in the Westman Region of Manitoba. It rests on sandy silt, which is underlain by clay and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

. The total area covered by the aquifer is and it contains over 3 million acre-feet of water. The aquifer stretches from the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River of the North, Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meand ...

near the community of Oak Lake in the north to the Souris River and Broomhill in the south to Souris in the east and Virden, Reston, and

Tilston Tilston is a village and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 627, reducing to 603 at the 2011 census. St Ma ...

in the west. Major bodies of water on the surface above the aquifer include Oak Lake, Oak Lake Marsh, Plum Lakes, Plum Creek, Maple Lake, Pipestone Creek, and Stony Creek. Besides rain and snow melt, Pipestone and Stony Creeks supply most of the water to the aquifer. Oak Lake Aquifer supplies drinking water to 3,800 people in several communities, tens of thousands of livestock, and irrigates farmland. The region falls under the Souris River Watershed Conservation District to ensure the stability and management of water levels and quality.

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Manitoba Kettle lakes in Canada