Lake Banook
Encyclopedia
Lake Banook is a freshwater lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 located in Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

 within the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is home to three sprint canoe and kayak clubs, two rowing clubs, and has a claim to be the birthplace of ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

.

Location

Lake Banook's eastern shore is bordered by Prince Albert Road (part of Trunk 7) and its western shore fronts Crichton Park, a residential neighbourhood. At the south end of the lake is a lock mechanism leading to Sullivan's Pond
Sullivan's Pond
Sullivan's Pond is a small artificial lake located in the community of Dartmouth in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.The pond is located a half kilometre northeast of Halifax Harbour at Dartmouth Cove as part of the Shubenacadie Canal system...

. At the north end of the lake a bridge carries the Highway 111
Nova Scotia Highway 111
Highway 111 is a 13-kilometre controlled access freeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.Highway 111 varies from 4-12 lanes and is known informally as the Dartmouth "Circumferential Highway", or, more recently, "The Circ", since it is a partial orbital road. The highway runs from Pleasant Street in the...

 expressway, informally known as the Dartmouth Circumferential Highway over its waters. The bridge also serves as a dividing line between Lake Micmac
Lake Micmac
Lake Micmac is a small freshwater lake located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada.Located entirely within the community of Dartmouth, Lake Micmac is also known as 'Second Lake' for its position in the Shubenacadie Canal system....

, also referred to as Second Lake.

Birch Cove Beach is the only beach on the lake that is currently supervised. Another beach, Graham's Grove, was closed in the early-1990s, as a result of poor water quality stemming from the construction of the nearby "Mic Mac Par-clo" (partial clover-leaf), a large interchange connecting Highway 111
Nova Scotia Highway 111
Highway 111 is a 13-kilometre controlled access freeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.Highway 111 varies from 4-12 lanes and is known informally as the Dartmouth "Circumferential Highway", or, more recently, "The Circ", since it is a partial orbital road. The highway runs from Pleasant Street in the...

, Trunk 7, and Route 318
Nova Scotia Route 318
Route 318 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.It is located in the Halifax Regional Municipality and connects Dartmouth at Exit 6 of Highway 111 with Waverley at Trunk 2....

, which replaced the rotary previously on the site.

Lake Banook has undergone many modifications. It was originally approximately two meters shallower than its current depth, after being dammed during the construction of the Shubenacadie Canal
Shubenacadie Canal
The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in central Nova Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with Shubenacadie Grand Lake which drains into the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River. Currently small craft use the river and lakes, but no locks are fully operational...

 in the early 19th century. When the water rose, it submerged a small island. During improvements for the 1989 Junior World Championships, the top section of the paddling course was dredged to meet depth standards. The fill was used to expand nearby Graham's Grove Park, and the former access road still remains underwater. There have been shoreline modifications for recreational beaches, private waterfront, boat docks, and municipal pipelines. No natural shoreline remains on the lake.

History

Lake Banook is named for the Mi'kmaq
Mi'kmaq language
The Mi'kmaq language is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada and the United States out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' ; the adjectival form is Míkmaw...

 phrase for "first lake", as it is the first lake in the system that later became the Shubenacadie Canal
Shubenacadie Canal
The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in central Nova Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with Shubenacadie Grand Lake which drains into the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River. Currently small craft use the river and lakes, but no locks are fully operational...

. The Mi'kmaq people were the first to navigate the waters of Lake Banook, which contributed to the naming of Lake Micmac
Lake Micmac
Lake Micmac is a small freshwater lake located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada.Located entirely within the community of Dartmouth, Lake Micmac is also known as 'Second Lake' for its position in the Shubenacadie Canal system....

, Mic Mac Mall
Mic Mac Mall
Mic Mac Mall is a Canadian shopping mall located in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality, in the community of Dartmouth. It is owned by Ivanhoe Cambridge headquartered in Montreal, Quebec....

, and Mic Mac AAC
Mic Mac AAC
Mic Mac Amateur Aquatic Club is located on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Activities provided include recreational and high performance paddling and rowing as well as swimming lessons. The club is part of Canoe Kayak Canada. Mic Mac shares Lake Banook with paddling clubs Banook Canoe Club...

. Hockey was played on Lake Banook as early as 1827, and certainly by 1850, thogh the game was then known as both rickets and wicket. Dartmouth claims the title of "Birthplace of Hockey, but this is disputed by both Windsor, Nova Scotia and Montreal. In 1864 Starr manufacturing of Dartmouth, located less than a kilometer from Lake Banook, began producing the world's first modern ice skate
Ice skate
Ice skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice. They are worn as footwear in many sports, including ice hockey, bandy and figure skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with...

s. Starr skates, first used on the lakes of Dartmouth including Lake Banook, later became a popular choice for elite ice hockey players, being worn by 6 of 7 member of the 1902 Stanley Cup Champions Montreal Hockey Club
Montreal Hockey Club
The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...

. In the days before refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...

s, the lake was a source of ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

for the residents of both Halifax and Dartmouth.

Since 1903, with the formation of the Banook Canoe Club, Lake Banook has been home to many competitive and recreational canoeists, kayakers, and rowers. Dartmouth has more paddlers per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

Sport

Lake Banook is home to three sprint canoe/kayak clubs, Banook Canoe Club, Senobe Aquatic Club, and Mic Mac Amateur Aquatic Club, as well as North Star Rowing. Mic Mac also has a rowing program. These clubs have developed multiple Olympians, National Champions, and World Championship team members. Lake Banook has an international-level course for canoe racing, as well as a official's tower and grandstands. Lake Banook has hosted many world-class competitions, including the canoe/kayak and rowing events at the inaugural Canada Summer Games in 1969, the World Junior Canoe Championships in 1989, the Senior World Championship in 1997, the World Marathon Championship in 2001, and the Senior Word Championships in 2009.
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