Peter Pond Lake
Encyclopedia
Peter Pond Lake is a glacial lake
in Saskatchewan
, Canada
. It is located in northwestern Saskatchewan
in the Boreal Forest and Canadian Shield
within the Churchill River
drainage basin
. It was on the fur trade route to the Methye Portage
which connected eastern Canada to the MacKenzie River
area. The lake is a long oval tending to the northwest. A peninsula which almost reaches the west shore divides it into Big Peter Pond (the northern two thirds) and Little Peter Pond. On the west side of Little Peter Pond a narrow isthmus separates it from Churchill Lake
, the two forming a broad "V". The Methy River, which drains Lake La Loche
comes in from the north while the Dillon River, with the village of Dillon at its mouth, comes in from the west. The lake drains into Churchill Lake through the Kisis Channel at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan
. Originally called Big and Little Buffalo Lakes, it was renamed after Peter Pond
. It is on highway 155 which passes through Buffalo Narrows.
species include walleye
, sauger
, yellow perch
, northern pike
, lake trout
, lake whitefish
, cisco
, white sucker
, longnose sucker
and burbot
.
Glacial lake
A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, 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 located in northwestern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in the Boreal Forest and Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
within the Churchill River
Churchill River (Hudson Bay)
The Churchill River is a major river in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. From the head of the Churchill Lake it is 1,609 km long. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691...
drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. It was on the fur trade route to the Methye Portage
Methye Portage
The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan was one of the most important portages in the old fur-trade route across Canada. It connected the Mackenzie River basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was reached by Peter Pond in 1778 and abandoned in 1883 when...
which connected eastern Canada to the MacKenzie River
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...
area. The lake is a long oval tending to the northwest. A peninsula which almost reaches the west shore divides it into Big Peter Pond (the northern two thirds) and Little Peter Pond. On the west side of Little Peter Pond a narrow isthmus separates it from Churchill Lake
Churchill Lake
Churchill Lake is a glacial lake of Saskatchewan, Canada. It lies east of Peter Pond Lake, near the village of Buffalo Narrows in northwestern Saskatchewan...
, the two forming a broad "V". The Methy River, which drains Lake La Loche
La Loche
La Loche is a northern village located in northwestern Saskatchewan. The second largest community in northern Saskatchewan, it is located on Highway 155 on the eastern shore of Lac La Loche in Canada's boreal forest....
comes in from the north while the Dillon River, with the village of Dillon at its mouth, comes in from the west. The lake drains into Churchill Lake through the Kisis Channel at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan
Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan
Buffalo Narrows is a northern village in Northern Saskatchewan. Buffalo Narrows was founded in the early 20th century as a trapping, mink ranching and fishing settlement by Scandinavian traders. It is now a community of about 1300 people. Tourism and resource extraction are its main economic...
. Originally called Big and Little Buffalo Lakes, it was renamed after Peter Pond
Peter Pond
Peter Pond was born in Milford, Connecticut. He was a soldier with a Connecticut regiment, a fur trader, a founding member of the North West Company, an explorer and a cartographer.-Biography:...
. It is on highway 155 which passes through Buffalo Narrows.
Fish species
The lake's fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
species include walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, sauger
Sauger
The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae which resembles its close relative the walleye. They are members of the largest vertebrate order, Perciforms. They are the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers obtain two dorsal fins, the first is spiny and the...
, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
, lake whitefish
Lake whitefish
The lake whitefish , also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also...
, cisco
Cisco (fish)
The ciscoes are salmonid fish of the genus Coregonus that differ from other members of the genus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high gillraker counts...
, white sucker
White Sucker
The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...
, longnose sucker
Longnose sucker
The longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, is a freshwater species of fish inhabiting cold, clear waters in North America from northern USA to the top of the continent. In addition, it is one of two species of sucker to inhabit Asia, specifically the rivers of eastern Siberia...
and burbot
Burbot
The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
.