Quill Lakes

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Information board

Three neighboring salt lakes in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan are collectively referred to as Quill Lakes . The wetlands surrounding them are also included , they are considered the largest salt lake area in Canada.

geography

The Quill Lakes are in southeast Saskatchewan. A little south of them is the small town of Wynyard with the small airfield of the same name ; Highway 16 as a section of the Yellowhead Highway and the railway line from Winnipeg to Saskatoon also run here . Other localities in the area are Wadena in the northeast, Quill Lake in the north and Watson in the northwest. Administratively, the area is divided into five rural municipalities: Elfros No. 307 , Big Quill No. 308 , Prairie Rose No. 309 ,Lakeview No. 337 and Lakeside No. 338 .

The Big Quill Lake in the west, with a water surface of up to 420 square kilometers , the largest of the three lakes, the Little Quill Lake to the east is about half the size. Between them lies the much smaller Middle Quill Lake , also called Mud Lake. Due to the flat environment, the extent of the lakes varies greatly and is dependent on the respective water level. The lakes are just over 510 meters above sea level.

The three lakes are fed by several smaller streams. Surrounded by Ice Age moraines , they form a small endorheic basin , and runoff in an easterly direction only occurs when the water levels are high. Some of them have gravel and mud beaches, but otherwise turn into marsh or salt meadows . The wider area is grassland or aspen parkland , the soil consists of black earth .

Importance for nature conservation

The Quill Lakes are an important intermediate destination as a resting place for migratory birds and at the same time serve as a breeding area for a number of native species. Due to their importance, they enjoy multiple protection status, since 1987 they have been designated as a Ramsar area , since 1998 as an Important Bird Area with a total area of ​​726.5 square kilometers. The lakes owe their names to the birds: Quill stands for a quill pen in the English language ; they were previously collected and exported to England to be used as writing implements .

In 2001, among other things, 85,000 geese , 100,000 ducks and 12,000 cranes were counted, with up to 155,000 birds at the same time. As a result of various protective measures, these numbers have increased in recent times; it is now assumed that there are up to 300,000 birds at the same time among around 300 species. Big Quill Lake is home to the province's largest breeding population of the yellow-footed plover, classified as an endangered species in Canada . An island in Middle Quill Lake is home to a colony of rhinoceros pelicans (Pelecanus erythorhynchos). In addition, among other Binden- , Weißbürzel- , meadows and Baird's Sandpiper and Dowitcher , American Avocet , Hudsonian Godwit and, during the pull phase in autumn, very rare whooping crane found.

Economical meaning

The Quill Lakes are rich in magnesium sulfate , sodium sulfate, and potassium sulfate . The latter is produced industrially on the southern edge of Big Quill Lake by Big Quill Resources , a subsidiary of Compass Minerals , for use as fertilizer , among other things .

The area is partly privately owned, but mostly crown land , around two thirds of the area is used as pastureland. Observation points have been set up for tourists at various points. Visitor information centers are in Wadena, Wynyard and, somewhat to the southeast, in Foam Lake .

literature

  • Josef K. Schmutz: Community Conservation Plan for the Quill Lakes Important Bird Area. Saskatoon 2002, digitized version on the website of Important Bird Areas Canada , PDF file, 710 kB (English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Annotated Ramsar List: Canada. In: The Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Convention Bureau January 10, 2000, archived from the original December 30, 2007 ; accessed on June 11, 2016 .
  2. ↑ About Us , Big Quill Resources website, accessed June 11, 2016
  3. ↑ Information about Big Quill Resources ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the City of Wynyard website, accessed June 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.townofwynyard.com

Coordinates: 51 ° 55 ′ 0 ″  N , 104 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  W.