Lac la Ronge is a glacial lake

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 the fifth largest lake in the province.

It is approximately 250 km north of Prince Albert

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

, on the edge of the 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...

. La Ronge

La Ronge, Saskatchewan

La Ronge is a community of about 2,700 people in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 250 km north of Prince Albert. There are an additional 2,000 people living in the Lac La Ronge First Nation bordering the town, and another 1,000 people living in the neighbouring community of Air Ronge...

, Air Ronge

Air Ronge, Saskatchewan

Air Ronge is a small community in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 235 km north of Prince Albert. It lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, and is 3 km south of La Ronge and Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. According to 2006's census, the northern village is currently growing at 8.1%,...

 and the Lac La Ronge First Nation

Lac La Ronge First Nation

Located in north-central Saskatchewan, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band is the largest First Nation in Saskatchewan, and one of the 10 largest in Canada, with a 2010 population of 8,954....

 are on the west shore

Shore

A shore or shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In Physical Oceanography a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past and present, while the beach is at the edge of the shore,...

. The lake is a popular vacation spot. Recreational activities include fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

, canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, and camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

. Lac La Ronge Provincial Park extends around the lake on 3 sides, starting at La Ronge and ending along the east shore. The park contains 4 RV park

RV park

A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in alloted spaces known as "pitches"...

s, 2 of which are on the west shore of the lake and one is on 2 streets in the town of Missinipe

Missinipe, Saskatchewan

Missinipe is a hamlet in north-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located north of La Ronge on the western shore of Otter Lake. It has several float plane services, canoe, and fishing outfitters. It is a main access point to the Churchill River. The next settlement north is Southend, 142 km...

, which is on the southwest shore of Otter Lake

Otter Lake (Saskatchewan)

Otter Lake is a lake in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 50 miles north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan. The lake is part of the Churchill River system. It is approximately 10 miles long and 9 miles at its widest point...

. Missinipe is the Woodland Cree

Woodland Cree

The Woodland Cree or the Sakāwithiniwak , calling themselves Nīhithawak, comprises the largest Amerindian group in northern Alberta. They are Algonquian linguistic stock...

 name for 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...

, which flows through the north side of the park. The fourth one is on the east shore of Nemeiben Lake

Nemeiben Lake, Saskatchewan

Nemeiben Lake is a hamlet in Saskatchewan. It shares its name with a lake located within Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. It is 2 km from Lac la Ronge. Fish species in the lake include walleye, sauger, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, rainbow trout, burbot, lake whitefish, cisco, white...

. There is also a hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 lodge 26 km north of La Ronge. Nistowiak Falls

Nistowiak Falls

Nistowiak Falls, at , is one of the highest waterfalls in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The falls are on the Rapid River, which flows north from Iskwatikan Lake into Nistowiak Lake on the Churchill River. Nistowiak is a Cree word referring to the convergence of waters.The closest access is...

, on the Rapid River (Churchill River)

Rapid River (Churchill River)

The Rapid River is a short river in central Saskatchewan, Canada, about east of the community of Stanley Mission. It is part of the Churchill River drainage basin...

, which is the lake's primary outflow into 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...

 and one of the tallest falls in Saskatchewan can be observed by canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

 trails on the north side of the park. Lac la Ronge Dam, (an embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

) was constructed on the source of the Rapid River in 1966 to regulate the lake's water level. The dam is 3.1 metres high and contains four gates. The dam was upgraded in 2007 and a fish ladder

Fish ladder

A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...

 was installed. Highway 2

Saskatchewan Highway 2

Highway 2 is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the longest Saskatchewan Highway, at 809 km . The highway is partially divided and undivided. However, only about near Moose Jaw, near Chamberlain, and near Prince Albert are divided highway...

 passes the lake on the west side, ending at La Ronge, where it becomes Highway 102

Saskatchewan Highway 102

Highway 102 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 2 at La Ronge and Lac La Ronge Provincial Park to Southend, at Reindeer Lake. Highway 102 is about 216 km long, the majority of which is gravel surface....

. Stanley Mission

Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan

Stanley Mission is a community in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, founded in 1851 as a settled community.People have lived in the area for several thousands of years. It is part of the Lac La Ronge First Nation...

 can be accessed by Highway 915

Saskatchewan Highway 915

Highway 915 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 102 to Stanley Mission within the Lac La Ronge First Nation. Highway 915 is about 36 km long....

 on the north side of the park. The community is on the shores of 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...

 across from the Holy Trinity Anglican Church

Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan)

Holy Trinity Anglican Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Anglican church building located on the banks of the Churchill River in Stanley Mission, a community in the Lac La Ronge First Nation and Lac La Ronge Provincial Park in Saskatchewan, Canada....

, Saskatchewan's oldest building.

Fish species

Fish

Fish

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...

, 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...

, 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 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...

.