Fife Lake is a fresh water
prairie lake in the
Canadian province of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. It is in the south-central part of the province at the eastern end of the
Wood Mountain Hills. The entire lake and its shoreline is designated an
Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada to protect the nationally endangered
piping plover. While there are no communities along the lake's shore, there is a park and campground at the southern end. Nearby communities include
Fife Lake,
Rockglen, and
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the ...
. Access is from
Highway 18.
Description
Fife Lake a is shallow, irregularly shaped
prairie lake. Its primary inflow, Hay Meadow Creek, flows into the west end of the lake from the central part of the
Wood Mountain Hills. Girard Creek, the lake's outflow, is a tributary of the East Poplar River. The East Poplar River is a major tributary of the
Poplar River, which connects to the
Missouri River in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
.
Being a shallow prairie lake, during drought years, Fife Lake water levels drop significantly. Lake water levels have been known to fluctuate by over . A record
surface elevation high of was recorded in 1979 and a record low of was recorded in 1993. By 2011, the lake had stabilised at above sea level. Fife Lake had been known for great
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 ...
fishing, but the low water levels through the late 1980s and 1990s had caused caused the fish to die off. While the lake is known for significant seasonal water level changes, the
Water Security Agency said that the extreme water level changes seen at that time were related to coal mining operations to the south-east, near
Coronarch. In the spring of 2016, with water levels having recovered, the lake was
re-stocked with 200,000 walleye.
Rockin Beach Regional Park
Rockin Beach Regional Park () is a recreational park on the southern shore of Fife Lake, about east of Rockglen. It is run by a
non-profit organisation
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
. The park has a campground, ball diamonds, volleyball courts, hiking trails, a motocross track, and lake access with a dock and a beach for swimming. The Rockin Beach Mud Bog event is held there every August.
Important Bird Area
The entirety of Fife Lake is part of the Fife Lake (SK 021)
Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada. It is considered a critical
piping plover habitat under the provincial Wildlife Habitat Protection Act. That designation protects the lake up to the high water mark from development. The IBA site itself totals of land with an elevation range of 800 metres to 823 metres above sea level. Besides the piping plover, other birds important to the lake include the
western grebe
The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe".
Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America ...
,
eared grebe, and the
black-crowned night heron.
Fish species
The most commonly found fish in the lake is the
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 ...
.
See also
*
List of lakes of Saskatchewan
This is a list of lakes of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada. The largest and most notable lakes are listed at the start, followed by an alphabetical listing of other lakes of the province.
Larger lake statistics
"The total area of a lak ...
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan There are numerous heritages and cultural attractions in the province of Saskatchewan. Museums, dinosaur digs, aboriginal cultural and heritage sites, art galleries, professional sport venues, spas, handcraft, antique and tea shops, agricultural t ...
*
List of protected areas of Saskatchewan
This is a list of protected areas of Saskatchewan.
National parks
Provincial parks
The federal government transferred control of natural resources to the western provinces in 1930 with the Natural Resources Acts. At that time, ...
References
{{Authority control
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Important Bird Areas of Saskatchewan
Poplar Valley No. 12, Saskatchewan
Willow Bunch No. 42, Saskatchewan