The Shellmouth Reservoir is a man-made reservoir on the Assiniboine River

Assiniboine River

The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 and 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...

.

The Shellmouth 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 built by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration

Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration

The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration is a branch under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a department of the Federal Government of Canada....

 (PFRA). Construction started in 1964 and was completed in 1972 costing $10.8 million. The dam is 70 feet (21.3 m) high and 4200 feet (1,280.2 m) long. The reservoir is 35 miles (56.3 km) in length and stores 390000 acre.foot at it full supply level of 1408.5 feet (429.3 m). Outflows are controlled by three gated conduits and a 210 feet (64 m) wide concrete chute spillway.

The dam and reservoir are part of a strategy to reduce the risk of flooding on the Assiniboine River and in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

. For example, in the 1997 Red River Flood, the inflow to the reservoir peaked at 10000 cuft/s while the outflow never exceeded 1700 cuft/s. The reservoir is also used to supplement flows on the Assiniboine when conditions are dry ensuring water supply for Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

, Portage la Prairie

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....

, irrigators and some industries.

The reservoir is also known by the name "Lake of the Prairies". Asessippi Provincial Park

Asessippi Provincial Park

Asessippi Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Manitoba, Canada about 100 km west of Dauphin. The Park is 23.2 km2 . The focal point is the Lake of the Prairies also known as Shellmouth Reservoir. The lake has one of the largest walleye fisheries in Manitoba...

 is established around the southern arm of the lake.

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...

, 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...

, mooneye

Mooneye

The mooneyes are a family, the Hiodontidae, of primitive ray-finned fish comprising two living and three extinct species in the genus Hiodon. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that physically resemble shads. Their common name comes from the metallic gold or silver shine of their eyes.The higher...

, 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...

, rock bass

Rock bass

The rock bass , also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, or red eye is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. They are similar in appearance to smallmouth bass but are usually quite a bit smaller...

, brown bullhead

Brown bullhead

The brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus, is a fish of the Ictaluridae family that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead and yellow bullhead...

, 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...

, shorthead redhorse

Shorthead redhorse

-Introduction:The Shorthead Redhorse is a wide-ranging species in North America that needs to be monitored throughout its range. The Shorthead Redhorse is native to central and eastern North America. However, its range has expanded to include areas like the Hudson estuary and Grayson County, Texas...

 and common carp

Common carp

The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...

. Rock bass are Saskatchewan's only native bass.

See also

• Portage Diversion
  Portage Diversion
  The Portage Diversion is a water control structure on the Assiniboine River in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. The project was made as part of a larger attempt to prevent flooding in the Red River Valley...
  
   (Assiniboine River Floodway)
• Red River Floodway
  Red River Floodway
  The Red River Floodway is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada, first used in 1969. It is a long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba to the east and discharges it back into the Red River below the dam at...
  
  
• Assiniboine River
  Assiniboine River
  The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
  
  

External links

• Lake of the Prairies Conservation District
• http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/details.cfm?p=11115 Fish Species of Saskatchewan