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URL: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/e2ecb6a6-c9a7-525c-841a-0132c09295eb
The map shows the location of 565 lakes and reservoirs with a total lake area larger than 100 square kilometres or 38.6 square miles. A table shows the fifteen largest lakes ranked by their area with their maximum depth. An examination of inland hydrologic subsystems must stress the roles of lakes and lake systems. This is particularly true in Canada, where fresh water covers about 8 per cent of the surface area, an area greater than the province of Alberta, which comprises about 5 per cent of the Canadian landmass. The rate at which water is evaporated from large lake surfaces depends on the surface temperature of lakes. Although the hydraulic flow-through forces are the most significant in influencing the rate at which lakes lose water downstream on the surface, lake currents may also be established because of horizontal differences in lake water density. Wind-induced seiches have often caused substantial rapid fluctuations in lake levels, resulting in flooding and other water management problems in large lake systems. Prolonged wind "set-up" can increase lake water levels at one end of a lake causing similar problems. In the Great Lakes, for example Lake Erie, intense storms have produced changes as great as 2 metres in water levels along the shoreline. Lake scientists (limnologists) have attempted to classify lake types by using many different criteria. Some small northern lakes occupy basins made within ice sheets, but these are small and rather unstable lake types. Examples of lake formation by other than glacial action can be found in Canada, including the interesting meteorite crater containing Ungava Lake in Quebec. Relatively large lakes have been "created" through the damming of major river systems and the establishment of large reservoirs. Well-known examples are Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan and Manicouagan in Quebec. Before conducting such projects, it is essential that all aspects of the environmental system be examined in order to anticipate properly the consequences of drastic alterations in a natural hydrologic system. An important factor is the impact of sedimentation. While Lake Diefenbaker has a projected life of 1000 years, smaller reservoirs can silt up almost completely well within the project design period, for example, Bassano Dam (in Alberta) on the Bow River.
Additional Information
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Data last updated | January 16, 2026 |
| Metadata last updated | January 16, 2026 |
| Created | January 16, 2026 |
| Format | JPEG |
| License | License not specified |
| Datastore active | False |
| Has views | True |
| Id | 3d1a91b5-da70-4ecb-a19a-80c83026a66a |
| Package id | b935d277-3410-49ab-a653-9cae304e76d7 |
| Position | 0 |
| State | active |