Lake Winnipeg: description, features, photo

Winnipeg is the fifth largest lake in Canada. It is large enough and deep, therefore it is the twelfth largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Lake Winnipeg is located in the province of Manitoba. This area is in the center of Canada.

Characteristics of the lake

The reservoir belongs to the catchment basin of the Hudson Bay. The area of the lake is about 24 thousand square meters. Km. Where is Lake Winnipeg, we already know, but what are its features?

In form, it is elongated in the meridional direction by approximately 400 km. It consists of a body of water, connected by a channel. The average depth is insignificant - about 12 m, the narrow connecting channel between the northern and southern parts reaches a depth of 36 m. The lake is located only 55 km from the same city (north direction). Together with the neighboring reservoirs of Manitoba and Winnipegos, Winnipeg constitutes the Mezhozerny region, which is part of the Manitoba lowland.

Origin and nutrition

Lake Winnipeg is glacial in origin, one of the remains of the huge reservoir Agassiz, existing on the site of modern southern Canada in the first millennium after the retreat of the last glacier. It feeds on the waters of several rivers, the most significant among them: Saskatchewan, Red River, Bloodway and Winnipeg. The runoff is through the Nelson water stream, blocked by thirteen dams and flowing into the Hudson Bay.

A bit of history

Lake Winnipeg was discovered in 1690 by the wandering mechanic Henry Kelsey, who left behind the pond the name heard from the Cree Indians and means "muddy waters". The development of the area by French colonizers, who came from the Great Lakes, began with the construction of the first forts in the 30s of the XVIII century. After the defeat of France in the seven-year war and the transition of Canada under the rule of the British Empire, the Red River colony, based on the river of the same name 55 km south of the lake, was named Winnipeg. In the XVIII-XIX centuries it was the administrative center of the Hudson's Bay Company, exploiting the natural resources of the region, and now is the capital of the province of Manitoba.

Through the lake Winnipeg was an important trade route connecting the northern land of Rupert and thirteen colonies of the Atlantic coast. This route was used by fur traders, and its importance increased after the proclamation of US independence.

Features of the coastline

The eastern shore is covered by relict taiga forests, which have the prospect of obtaining from UNESCO the status of a natural area that is part of the World Heritage. On the south side, the outlines of the Winnipeg Lake coastline have not undergone significant changes. On the coastal zone of the lake there are sandy beaches popular with tourists, as well as limestone cliffs with caves where numerous flocks of bats live. Recent processes have been observed in the erosion of the shoreline. This is due to human intervention in the nature of the reservoir.

Flora and fauna

Water flora and fauna are diverse. Amateur and industrial fishing is developed on the lake. The last branch brings up to 30 million dollars a year, mainly due to the production of whitefish and pike perch. Also in Winnipeg, pike, perch and acclimatized carp are caught.

Neighborhood

Along the banks of the reservoir are many settlements, which are home to more than 23 thousand permanent residents, including a large number of Indians and Métis. On the south side, Lake Winnipeg is inhabited by representatives of the ancient community of Icelandic settlers of Gimli, which was founded in 1887 and owned the best beaches. Since 1890, the annual Icelandic Manitoba festival has been held there, gathering up to 50,000 people, whom the organizers offer to "feel like Vikings." Tourist industry brings about 100 million dollars annually and includes swimming, rowing, sailing and windsurfing on the eastern and western coasts of the southern part of the lake.

Problems

A serious threat to fishing and tourism is the spread of blue-green algae, E. coli and cyanobacteria, which has intensified in the last 30 years due to the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Grand Rapids on the Saskatchewan River. Under the pressure of the public and the tourism industry, which suffers from the closure of beaches during the flowering period, Manitoba Hydro, which regulates the flow of Saskatchewan, is forced to allocate large funds for ongoing environmental monitoring.