About Alberta Lakes
Alberta is graced with a wonderful variety of lakes - however, we only have a fraction of the recreational lakes that our neighbours in British Columbia and Saskatchewan are blessed with. For example, in Saskatchewan there are 19,600 lakes listed as fishing lakes. In Alberta, there are only approximately 800 lakes capable of supporting fish.
We have a variety of different types of lakes in Alberta. Clear lakes with sandy beaches decorate the Lakeland Region where Skeleton Lake is located. Warm green shallow lakes dot the prairie and parkland, brown water lakes occur throughout the boreal forest area and pristine cold mountain lakes are found in the Rocky Mountains.
Alberta's lakes are very young from a geological perspective - most have been in existence less than 12,000 years. With the retreat of the glaciers, we received the array of lakes we see today. Alberta's lakes reflect not only its physical features, but also it's climate. Where water is abundant, lakes abound - as in the Lakeland Region where Skeleton Lake is situated. The arid south eastern part of the province has few natural lakes. There is a surplus of water in the mountains but much of it runs off to form rivers that flow across the province to the north or east.
Alberta's lakes are part of drainage basins of its largest rivers. Four major rivers drain most of the province. The Peace and Athabasca Rivers drain the northern half of Alberta while just southeast of that drainage basin is Alberta's smallest drainage basin, the Beaver River Basin where Skeleton Lake is situated. The Beaver River flows through the heart of the Lakeland Region and then into the Churchill system.
|
