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Great Slave Lake (French: Grand lac des Esclaves) is the second-largest lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
 in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
 of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 (behind Great Bear Lake
Great Bear Lake

Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada , the third largest in North America, and the List of world's largest lakes in the world....
), the deepest lake in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 at 614 m (2,015 ft), and the ninth-largest
List of world's largest lakes

Lakes with a surface area of more than 4,000 km?, listed by area.Note: The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year....
 lake in the world. It is 480 km (298 mi) long and 19 to 109 km (12 to 68 mi) wide.






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Mackenzie River Drainage Basin
Great Slave Lake (French: Grand lac des Esclaves) is the second-largest lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
 in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
 of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 (behind Great Bear Lake
Great Bear Lake

Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada , the third largest in North America, and the List of world's largest lakes in the world....
), the deepest lake in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 at 614 m (2,015 ft), and the ninth-largest
List of world's largest lakes

Lakes with a surface area of more than 4,000 km?, listed by area.Note: The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year....
 lake in the world. It is 480 km (298 mi) long and 19 to 109 km (12 to 68 mi) wide. It covers an area of 28,400 km² (11,000 sq mi
Square mile

The square mile is an Imperial system and US customary system of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one mile. It should not be confused with miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared....
) in the southern part of the territory. Its volume is 2,090 km³ (501.7 cu mi,1.694 billion acre feet
Acre foot

An acre-foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoir , aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, and river flows....
). The lake was named for the Slavey
Slavey

The Slavey are a First Nations Aboriginal peoples of Canada of the Dene group, indigenous peoples to the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, and extending into northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta....
 North American Indians
First Nations

First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor M?tis people....
 and has nothing to do with slavery
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
. Other towns around the lake include: Yellowknife
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Yellowknife is the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories . It is located on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, approximately south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River....
, Fort Providence
Fort Providence, Northwest Territories

Fort Providence is a Hamlet in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located west of Great Slave Lake, it has all-weather road connections by way of the Yellowknife Highway branch off the Mackenzie Highway, and plans are currently progressing to build a bridge near Fort Providence over the Mackenzie River, to replace the...
, Hay River
Hay River, Northwest Territories

Hay River, known as "the Hub of the North" is a town in the Northwest Territories, Canada, located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, at the mouth of the Hay River ....
 and Fort Resolution
Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories

Fort Resolution is a "settlement corporation" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is situated at the mouth of the Slave River, on the shore of Great Slave Lake, and at the end of Fort Resolution Highway ....
. The only community in the East Arm is Lutselk'e
Lutselk'e, Northwest Territories

Lutselk'e , also spelt Lutsel K'e, is a "designated authority" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on the south shore near the eastern end of Great Slave Lake and until 1 July 1992, it was known as Snowdrift....
, a hamlet of about 350 people, largely Chipewyan
Chipewyan

The Chipewyan are a Dene Aboriginal people in Canada, whose ancestors were the Taltheilei Shale Tradition. There are approximately 11,000 Chipewyan living in the Canadian Arctic regions around Hudson Bay, including Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, as well as northern parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
 aboriginals of the Dene
Dene

The Dene are an Aboriginal peoples of Canada group of First Nations who live in the northern Boreal Forest of Canada and Arctic regions of Canada....
 Nation.

History

First Nations
First Nations

First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor M?tis people....
 were the first settlers around the lake, building communities including Dettah
Dettah, Northwest Territories

Dettah or Detah is a First Nations community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located just outside the capital of Yellowknife, it is a 6.5 km drive from that town by ice road in winter or a 27 km drive on an all-season road....
, which still exists today.

British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 fur trade
Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur....
r Samuel Hearne
Samuel Hearne

Samuel Hearne, , was born in London, England and did extensive exploration of northern North America.In 1756,he was eleven when he entered the navy , and was some time with Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood; at the end of the Seven Years' War , he took service with the Hudson's Bay Company....
 explored the area in 1771 and crossed the frozen lake, which he initially named Lake Athapuscow (after an erroneous French speaker's pronunciation of Athabaska).

In the 1930s, gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 was discovered there, which led to the establishment of Yellowknife
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Yellowknife is the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories . It is located on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, approximately south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River....
, the territory's capital.

In 1967, an all-season highway was built around the lake, originally an extension of the Mackenzie Highway
Mackenzie Highway

Mackenzie Highway, which begins at Grimshaw, Alberta, comprises the entire length of Alberta Highway 35 and Northwest Territories Highway 1....
 but now known as Highway 3.

On January 24, 1978, a Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite
RORSAT

Radar Ocean Reconnaissance SATellite or RORSAT is the western name given to the Soviet Union Upravlyaemyj Sputnik Aktivnyj satellites....
, named Cosmos 954
Cosmos 954

Cosmos 954 was a Soviet Union Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite with an onboard Nuclear reactor technology. The satellite's Nuclear reactor core failed to separate and boost into a nuclear-safe orbit, and instead remained onboard in an orbit that decayed until the satellite Atmospheric reentry Earth's atmosphere on January 24, 1978....
, built with an on board nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion....
 fell from orbit and disintegrated. Pieces of the nuclear core fell in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake. The nuclear debris was picked up by a group called Operation Morning Light formed with both American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canadian members.

Geography and natural history


The Hay
Hay River (Canada)

Hay River is a large river in northern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, Canada.It originates in the muskeg of north western Alberta, flows west to British Columbia, then returns to Alberta, where it follows a northern course towards the Northwest Territories, where it discharges in the Great Slave Lake....
 and Slave River
Slave River

The Slave River is a Canada river that flows from Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta and empties into Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories....
s are its chief tributaries. It is drained by the Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at 1,738 km and, together with its headstreams the Peace River and the Finlay River, the second longest river in North America at 4,241 km in length....
. Though the western shore is forested, the east shore and northern arm are tundra
Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is an biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tund?r, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra....
-like. The southern and eastern shores reach the edge of the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield — also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien — is a massive shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American craton....
. Along with other lakes such as the Great Bear
Great Bear Lake

Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada , the third largest in North America, and the List of world's largest lakes in the world....
 and Athabasca
Lake Athabasca

Lake Athabasca is located in the northwest corner of Saskatchewan and the northeast corner of Alberta between 58th parallel north and 60th parallel north....
, it is a remnant of a vast post-glacial lake.

The East Arm of Great Slave Lake is filled with islands, and the area is within Thaydene Nene National Park
Thaydene Nene National Park

Thaydene Nene National Park is a proposed National Parks of Canada located on the northern edge of the boreal forest in the Northwest Territories, Canada....
. The Pethei Peninsula separates the East Arm into McLeod Bay in the north and Christie Bay in the south. The lake is at least partially frozen during an average of eight months of the year. During winter, the ice is thick enough for semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck

A semi-trailer truck, also known as tractor-trailer or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle truck or lorry consisting of a tractor unit , and a semi-trailer that carries the freight....
s to pass over. Until 1967, when an all-season highway was built around the lake, goods were shipped across the ice to Yellowknife, located on the north shore. Goods and fuel are still shipped across frozen lakes up the winter road to the diamond mines located near the headwaters of the Coppermine River
Coppermine River

The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave Region and Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada....
, Northwest Territories. A ferry is required to access Yellowknife during spring when the ice is not present in a solid sheet along Highway 3 where it crosses the Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at 1,738 km and, together with its headstreams the Peace River and the Finlay River, the second longest river in North America at 4,241 km in length....
.

The main western portion of the lake forms a moderately deep bowl with a surface area of 18,500 km² and a volume of 596 km³. This main portion has a maximum depth of 187.7 m and a mean depth of 32.2 m. To the east, McLeod Bay and Christie Bay are much deeper, with a maximum recorded depth in Christie Bay of 614 m.

On some of the plains surrounding Great Slave Lake, climax
Climax community

In ecology, a climax community, or climatic climax community, is a biological Community of plants and animals which, through the process of ecological succession ? the development of vegetation in an area over time ? has reached a steady state....
 polygonal bog
Patterned ground

Patterned ground is a term used to describe the distinct, and often symmetrical geometric shapes formed by ground material in periglacial regions....
s have formed, the early successional stage to which often consists of pioneer Black Spruce
Black Spruce

Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia....
.

South of Great Slave Lake, in a remote corner of Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at 44,807 km?....
, is the nesting site of a remnant flock of whooping crane
Whooping Crane

The Whooping Crane , the tallest North American bird, is an endangered Crane species named for its whooping sound and call. Along with the Sandhill Crane, it is one of only two cranes species found in North America....
s, discovered in 1954.

See also

  • Keller Lake
    Keller Lake

    Keller Lake is a surface water body in the Northwest Territories of Canada. There is a salmonid population in Keller Lake. On some of the plains surrounding Keller Lake, climax community Patterned grounds have formed, the early successional stage to which often consists of pioneer Black Spruce....
  • List of lakes by area (9)
  • List of lakes by depth
    List of lakes by depth

    This page lists the world's deepest lakes....
     (6)
  • List of lakes by volume
    List of lakes by volume

    This article lists lakes with a water volume of more than 100 km?, ranked by volume. The volume of a lake is a difficult quantity to measure. Generally, the volume must be inferred from bathymetry by integral....
     (10)


Further reading