Spirit Lake is a lake in 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 ...

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 ...

. It is located in the east-central part of the province in the

Porcupine Hills The Porcupine Hills refer to various groups of hills and uplands located in the prairie provinces of Canada, specifically the Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They are part of the Manitoba Escarpment ...

and

Porcupine Provincial Forest The Porcupine Provincial Forest is a protected boreal forest in Canada which covers the Porcupine Hills on the border of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. __TOC__ History By the end of the 19th century, Eastern Canada had essentially run out of marke ...

. The lake is part of the Woody River Block of

Porcupine Hills Provincial Park Porcupine Hills Provincial Park is the newest provincial park in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan. It was created in 2018 through the amalgamation of five pre-existing provincial recreation sites south-east of the town of Hudson Bay. T ...

and is situated in

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, ...

surrounded by hills, other small lakes, and

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 ...

. Access to the lake is on the southern side from Spirit Lake Road which branches off Highway 980.

Description

Spirit Lake is a

bifurcation lake A bifurcation lake is a lake that has outflows into two different drainage basins and thus the drainage divide cannot be defined exactly because it is situated in the middle of the lake. Examples Vesijako (the name ''Vesijako'' actually means "dr ...

meaning it has two outflows. At the southern end is a small creek that flows south out of the lake and into neighbouring Elbow Lake. The main outflow is to the north into Island Lake and then into Midnight Creek via Island Creek. To the east of the lake is Spirit Mountain, which rises almost 800 metres above sea level. To the north-east of Spirit Mountain, Island Lake, and Spirit Lake is

Armit Lake Armit is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Barney Armit (1874–1899), New Zealand international rugby union player * Chris Armit (born 1983), Australian rugby league player * Peter Armit (died 2013), Scottish footballer * Willia ...

, which, other than the western most point, is entirely within the province of

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 ...

. Armit lake, which is the largest in the Porcupine Hills, can be accessed from a rough ATV trail that begins at Spirit Lake. At the southern end of Spirit Lake is a campground with lake access. There are no

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

nor other amenities on the lake.

Parks and recreation

Prior to the formation of

in 2018, the park on Smallfish Lake was part of a provincial recreation site called Woody River Recreation Site. At this site there is a small campground, boat launch, picnic area, fish cleaning station, and lake access. The ATV trail to Armit Lake begins at the campground.

Fish species

Fish commonly found in the lake include

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 ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

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

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 ...

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Hudson Bay No. 394, Saskatchewan

Description

Parks and recreation

Fish species

See also

References