List of lakes in Alberta

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Most of Alberta's lakes were formed during the last glaciation, about 12,000 years ago. There are many different types of lakes in Alberta, from glacial lakes in the Canadian Rockies to small shallow lakes in the prairies, brown water lakes in the northern boreal forest and muskeg, kettle holes and large lakes with sandy beaches and clear water in the central plains.

Distribution of the lakes throughout the province is irregular, with many water bodies in the wet regions in the northeast and Lakeland Region, and very few in the dry southeast. ^[1]

Contents 1 River Basins 2 List of lakes 2.1 Largest lakes 3 See also 4 References

[edit] River Basins

Most of Alberta's waters are drained in a general north eastern direction, with four major rivers collecting the water. Peace and Athabasca River are heading north and draining in the Arctic Ocean while North and South Saskatchewan River are heading east and draining in Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The smaller Beaver River in east-central Alberta flows into the Churchill system and then Hudson Bay, while the southern Milk River heads south-east into the Missouri River and to the Gulf of Mexico.^[2]

[edit] List of lakes

Lake	Watershed	Basin	Area (km²)	Remarks
Abraham Lake	North Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	53.7	man-made reservoir
Lake Agnes	Bow River	Hudson Bay	0.52	glacial lake
Amisk Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	5.3
Lake Athabasca	Slave River	Arctic Ocean	7850	two thirds in Saskatchewan
Baptiste Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	9.8
Barrier Lake	Kananaskis River	Hudson Bay	2.6	man-made reservoir
Battle Lake	Battle River	Hudson Bay	4.6
Beauvais Lake	Oldman River	Hudson Bay	0.9
Beauvert Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	0.4
Beaver Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	33.1
Beaverhill Lake	North Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	139
Bistcho Lake	Petitot River	Arctic Ocean	426
Bow Lake	Bow River	Hudson Bay	3.21	glacial lake
Brule Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	14.5	lake is formed along the Athabasca River
Buffalo Lake	Red Deer River	Hudson Bay	93.5
Chestermere Lake	Bow River	Hudson Bay	2.7	man-made reservoir
Calling Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	134
Cardinal Lake	Peace River	Arctic Ocean	50
Chester Lake	Spray River	Hudson Bay	0.51	glacial lake
Lake Claire	Peace River	Arctic Ocean	1436	largest lake completely in Alberta
Cold Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	373	partly in Saskatchewan
Elkwater Lake	South Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	2.31
Glenmore Reservoir	Elbow River	Hudson Bay	3.8	man-made reservoir
Hector Lake	Bow River	Hudson Bay	5.23	glacial lake
Headwall Lakes	Kananaskis River	Hudson Bay	0.66	glacial lakes (0.45+0.21 km²)
Hidden Lake	Bow River	Hudson Bay	0.40	glacial lake
Hoselaw Lake	North Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	0.40
Jessie Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	5.5
Kananaskis Lakes	Kananaskis River	Hudson Bay	14.40	Upper and Lower reservoir (8.40+6.0 km²)
Lac La Biche	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	236
Lesser Slave Lake	Lesser Slave River	Arctic Ocean	1160	second largest lake completely in Alberta
Lake Louis	Bow River	Hudson Bay	0.8	glacial lake
Maligne Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	19.7	glacial lake
Medicine Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	3.7
Lake Minnewanka	Bow River	Hudson Bay	21.5	glacial lake enlarged by dam
Moraine Lake	Bow River	Hudson Bay	0.5	glacial lake
Muriel Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	64.1
Peerless Lake	Peace River	Arctic Ocean	82.6
Peyto Lake	Mistaya River	Hudson Bay	1.4	glacial lake
Pigeon Lake	Battle River	Hudson Bay	96.7
Pinehurst Lake	Sand River	Hudson Bay	35.4
Primrose Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	448	mostly in Saskatchewan, 18 km² in Alberta
Pyramid Lake	Athabasca River	Arctic Ocean	1.2
Skeleton Lake	Beaver River	Hudson Bay	7.89
Sturgeon Lake	Smoky River	Arctic Ocean	49.1
Lac Ste. Anne	North Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	54.5
Sylvan Lake	Red Deer River	Hudson Bay	42.8
Utikuma Lake	Peace River	Arctic Ocean	295
Vermilion Lakes	Bow River	Hudson Bay	0.48	series of lakes along the Bow River
Wabamun Lake	North Saskatchewan River	Hudson Bay	81.8
Wabasca Lakes	Wabasca River	Arctic Ocean	161	South and North Wabasca Lake (61.6+99.4 km²)
Waterton Lake	Oldman River	Hudson Bay	11.6	partly in Montana
Winefred Lake	Clearwater River	Arctic Ocean	122.8
Zama Lake	Hay River	Arctic Ocean	55.5

[edit] Largest lakes

The area of Lake Athabasca that falls inside Alberta's boudaries is the largest water surface in the province. The largest lake completely in Alberta is Lake Claire, which is often overseen as such, due to its remoteness and the lack of human development in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

1. Lake Athabasca - 7,850 km² (partly in Saskatchewan, 2,295 km² in Alberta)
2. Lake Claire - 1,436 km²
3. Lesser Slave Lake - 1,160 km²
4. Bistcho Lake - 426 km²
5. Utikuma Lake - 295.5 km²
6. Cold Lake - 280 km² (partly in Saskatchewan, 248 km² in Alberta)
7. Lac La Biche - 236 km²
8. Beaverhill Lake - 139 km²
9. Calling Lake - 134 km²
10. Winefred Lake - 123 km²

[edit] See also

• List of Canadian lakes
• List of Alberta rivers
• Geography of Alberta

[edit] References

v • d • e Rivers and Lakes of Alberta
Major Rivers	Athabasca · Beaver · Hay · Milk · North Saskatchewan · Peace · Red Deer · Slave · South Saskatchewan
Other Rivers	Battle · Bow · Brazeau · Chinchaga · Crowsnest · Clearwater · Elbow · Firebag · Lesser Slave · Little Smoky · Oldman · Pembina · Petitot · Sheep · Smoky · Sunwapta · Wabasca · Wapiti · (more...)
Major Lakes	Athabasca · Bistcho · Claire · Lesser Slave
Other Lakes	Abraham · Beaverhill · Brûlé · Calling · Cold · La Biche · Louise · Maligne · Minnewanka · Moraine · Peyto · Pigeon · Pinehurst · Pyramid · Skeleton · Sylvan · Utikuma · Vermilion · Wabamun · Waterton · Zama · (more...)

v • d • e Topics on Alberta
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Politics	Political parties • Elections (last) • Government • Lieutenant Governor • Cabinet • Premiers (current) • Speaker • Legislature • Electoral districts (federal)
Geography	Demographics • Mountains • Provincial parks • Lakes • Rivers
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