Lake Athabasca: description, flora and fauna, ecology problems

Lake Athabasca is located in the territory of two Canadian provinces: north-eastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan, on the edge of the Precambrian shield. Having an impressive area (7935 sq km) and a coastline of 2,140 km, it is the eighth largest in Canada.

General information about the lake

The lake belongs at once to two provinces and is the largest in Alberta and Saskatchewan (Canada), which owns about 70% of the water surface area. It is located at an altitude of 213 m above sea level, the average depth is 20 m, the largest - 124 m. The length of the reservoir is extended by 283 km, the maximum width is 50 km. They feed the lake of the Athabasca and Mira rivers. Water flows along the Slave River and Mackenzie into the Arctic Ocean.

The origin of the basin of Lake Athabasca is defined as glacial-tectonic. It arose as a result of processing of tectonic depressions in the earth's crust by a glacier. Along with the other largest lakes in Canada (the Large Slave and Bear), Athabasca is the remains of the vast McConnell glacier.

History of the lake

The name of the Athabasca lake comes from the word athapiscow from the Kree language (the ethnic community of North America). By this term they denoted an open water area (swamps, lakes, etc.), along the banks of which grew willows, grasses and reeds. Together with other ethnic groups, such as Beaver and Chipeyan, the Kree people are the first people who inhabited these lands more than 2,000 years ago.

Originally, this name was applied only to the delta of the Athabaski River in the south-western corner of the lake. In 1791 the cartographer of the company "Hudson's Bay" Philip Ternor in one of his magazines recorded the name "Atapison". Before him, Peter Fiedler in 1790 designated him as the "Great Arabian". By 1801 there was more or less a single spelling, as close to the modern - Lake Atapaskov. And only in 1820 George Simpson called the river and the lake "Athabasca".

The reservoir for them was a key point in the fur trade. One of the oldest European settlements on the coast (on the territory of Alberta) is Fort-Chipyanyan, founded in 1788 by Peter Pond in the framework of the North-Western company. The settlement was named in honor of the local people living in the area Chipeyan.

Flora and fauna of the lake

The lake is part of the Peace-Athabasca Delta - a biologically diverse wetland located to the west of it. The delta is an important point of migration and the nesting area of such species of birds as the American swan, the Canadian crane, and also numerous geese and ducks. In addition, about 80% of this territory belongs to the national park Wood Buffalo (a UNESCO World Heritage site), in which the largest herd of wild buffaloes dwells.

Since 1926, fishing has been organized on the Athabasca lake. The catch consists mainly of lake trout, pike perch and northern pike. In addition to them there are such species as grayling, perch, burbot, arctic char. In 1961, with the help of a large gill net, the fishermen managed to catch a trout with a record-high weight of 46.3 kg.

Ecological problems

Lake Athabasca is rich in deposits of natural resources. People did not lose sight of it. As a result, even in the century before last, active mining of uranium and gold began in these places. Arriving on the lake numerous workers with families, founded on its shores the village of Uranium City. The last mine was closed in the 1980s, the effects of mining have heavily contaminated the northern shores of the reservoir. The situation was aggravated by several large oil deposits located nearby. The gold mines on the lake are still functioning.

In October 2013, one of the coal mines collapsed and more than 600 billion liters of sludge fell into Plant and Alotun Creeks. The plume of pollution also flowed into the Athabasca River, heading downstream. Within a month he reached the lake and spilled more than 500 km.

The area where Lake Athabasca is located is very close to the oil sands. This fact is currently worried by environmentalists most. Until 1997, the impact of production on the aquatic ecosystem was not controlled, and monitoring efficiency is currently being questioned, as it is funded by oil companies.

Despite some problems in data collection, recent environmental studies have shown a direct link between increased pollution of the lake and oil sands. An increase in the number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lake ecosystems near deposits is demonstrated. This causes concern, since the substances remain in the environment for a long time and do not decompose.

Sand dunes

Another unique feature of the lake is the mobile sand dunes, located near the southern shores. In 1992, this amazing natural ecosystem was taken under state protection. The Park of Sand Dunes of Athabasca is organized. It is located in Saskatchewan (Canada). The park extends more than 100 km along the southern edge of the lake. Sand dunes have a length of 400 to 1500 m and a height of about 30 m. You can get to these places only on the water surface of the lake.