Reindeer Lake


Reindeer Lake is a lake in Western Canada located on the border between northeastern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba, with the majority in Saskatchewan. The name of the lake appears to be a translation of the Algonquian name. It is the 24th largest lake in the world by area, as well as being the second-largest lake in Saskatchewan and the ninth largest in Canada. 8% of the lake lies in Manitoba and 92% of lake in Saskatchewan.

Geography

Reindeer Lake has a heavily indented shoreline and contains numerous small islands. On its eastern shore is the community of Kinoosao, at its northern end Brochet, Manitoba; and at its southern end, Southend, Saskatchewan. It drains mainly to the south, via the Reindeer River and a controlled weir, to the Churchill River and then east to Hudson Bay. Water flow out of the lake is regulated by the Whitesand Dam.
Deep Bay, located at the south end of the lake and measuring about wide and deep, is the site of a large meteorite impact dating about 99 million years ago. According to local Cree legend, it is also the location of a lake monster.

Development

Several early explorers including David Thompson traveled through the lake. It did not serve a major role in the fur trade as only a few short-lived trading posts were established. Today road access to the lake is provided by Highway 102 that terminates at Southend, Saskatchewan, and Highway 302.

Fishing

Fishing is an important industry in the area and sport-fishermen are drawn by its clear and deep waters. Trophy-sized pike are common at Reindeer Lake. The lake also supports light commercial fishing.
Fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, Arctic grayling, lake whitefish, cisco, round whitefish, burbot, white sucker and longnose sucker.
Several bays and islands on Reindeer Lake host fishing lodges.

NORAD Tracks Santa

Reindeer Lake was a featured Santa Cam location from the start of the 2002 NORAD Tracks Santa tracking season to the end of the 2011 season when NORAD opted to switch to a regional format the next year instead of the individual profiling of cities they had been doing.