Athabasca lake
Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca, Athabasca Lac |
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Geographical location | Alberta , Saskatchewan (Canada) | |
Tributaries |
Athabasca River , Fond du Lac River |
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Drain | Slave river | |
Islands | Grouse Island, Long Island, Stewart Island, Bustard Island, Burntwood Island, Beartooth Island | |
Places on the shore | Fort Chipewyan , Uranium City | |
Data | ||
Coordinates | 59 ° 16 ′ N , 109 ° 27 ′ W | |
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Altitude above sea level | 213 m | |
surface | 7th 849 km² | |
length | 283 km | |
width | 50 km | |
Catchment area | 274,540 km² |
Lake Athabasca ( English Lake Athabasca; French Lac Athabasca; Cree for "where there are reeds") is located in the northwest corner of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and the northeast corner of Alberta between 58 ° and 60 ° north latitude .
The lake covers an area of 7849 km² at a height of 213 m , it is 283 km long and has a width of up to 50 km. With its dimensions, it is the largest lake in Saskatchewan. The lake drains north via the Slave River ("slave river") and the Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean .
On the west bank of the lake is the town of Fort Chipewyan , the oldest European settlement in Alberta, where the slave river begins its way north, bordered to the east by Wood Buffalo National Park . On the southern shore of the lake are the Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes , the largest active sand dunes in the world north of the 58th parallel . After a long battle between the administrative bureaucracy and the resistance of the mining companies, the dunes have been recognized as a Provincial Wilderness Park since 1992 .
Gold and uranium discoveries on the north bank led to the establishment of the city of Uranium City , where the miners and their families were settled. The mines have been closed since the 1980s, but the northern shore of the lake is still ecologically polluted by the mining activity.
Lake Athabasca is home to 23 different species of fish , including the American Arctic char , from which a world record specimen weighing 46.3 kg was caught.
The lake and its tributary Athabasca River are namesake for the Athabasca oil sands , an oil sand deposit south of the lake and south and east of the river. They are the largest known deposit of unconventional crude oil and are exploited with tremendous energy expenditure and environmental damage.
Web links
- Lake Athabasca and associated Sand Dunes ( Memento from May 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)