The Sikome Aquatic Facility, commonly referred to as Sikome Lake, is a man-made

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the city of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the city, within the

Fish Creek Provincial Park Fish Creek Park is an urban provincial park that preserves the valley of Fish Creek in the southern part of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is bordered on three sides by the city, and on the west by the territory of the Tsuu T’ina Nation (Sarcee) ...

, and is part of the Bow River basin. It lies at an elevation of and has a surface of . First opened in late summer 1978, it is a swimming area open during the summer as a public beach. Up to 20,000 swimmers a day visit the lake during summer week-ends. The beach is staffed by Alberta Provincial Parks aquatic staff. Until the mid-to-late 1980s, the lake was used as a skating rink in the Winter months. Now, during the winter the water is drained, and it takes three weeks to fill the lake every spring. A filtration system that chlorinates the water supply was implemented in 1991 at a cost of $1.8 million. For the 2004 season, the lake was closed to public due to construction. It has been closed before, in July 1990 and August 1998, due to excessive contamination from bird droppings and in Summer 2004 due to flooding. A fence was constructed in 2013 to increase public safety and control unwanted behaviour.

References

Lakes of Alberta Parks in Calgary Tourist attractions in Calgary Reservoirs in Alberta {{CalgaryRegion-geo-stub

See also

References