Lesser Slave Lake is located in northern

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, northwest of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. It is the second largest lake entirely within Alberta boundaries (and the largest easily accessible by vehicle), covering and measuring over long and at its widest point. Lesser Slave Lake averages in depth and is at its deepest. It drains eastwards into the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...

by way of the Lesser Slave River. The town of Slave Lake is located at the eastern tip of the lake, around the outflow of Lesser Slave River.

Conservation and development

Due to its location on a major fly-way for migrating birds, Lesser Slave Lake is popular with birders. The nearby Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park has lakeside camping facilities located along sand beaches, with some rocky beaches as well. Fishing is popular and legal. The entire north shore of the lake is protected, other reserves being Hilliard's Bay Provincial Park, ''Lesser Slave Lake Wildland'' and ''Grouard Trail Park Reserve''. Highway 2 and the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

follow the southern shore of the lake, and the Bicentennial Highway has its southernmost point at eastern end of the lake. A number of

Indian reserves In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." R ...

are established at the shores of the lake: *Kapawe'no First Nations Lands 150, 230 and 231 of the Kapawe'no First Nation, *Sucker Creek 150a of the Sucker Creek Cree First Nation *Drift Pile River 150 of the Driftpile First Nation *Swan River 150e of the Swan River First Nation *Sawridge 150g and h Sawridge Band

Accidents

;February 14, 1968 On February 14, 1968, a Cessna 182H CF-WUK plane crashed into the lake due to ice forming on the wings and causing the pilot to lose control. The pilot was a Graham James Cox, a former 501 Squadron Commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Both he and his two passengers died in the accident. The passengers were William Henry Lucus and Kenneth McIntosh McMillan. ;May 20, 2011 On May 20, 2011, a Bell 212 helicopter crashed into the lake while fighting the 2011 Slave Lake fire. The pilot, 54-year-old Jean-Luc Deba of Montreal, died. On the one-year anniversary, a park at Canyon Creek was named in Deba's honor.CTV.ca
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References

External links

Lesser Slave Lake Regional Tourism
{{Authority control Big Lakes County Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Lakes of Alberta Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124