Basin Lake is an

endorheic An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The lake is in the RM of Three Lakes No. 400 in the Boreal Transition

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

and is within an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) of Canada and part of the Basin and Middle Lakes Bird Sanctuary. There are no communities along the lake's shore and the closest highway is Highway 20. At to the south, Humbolt is the closest city.

Description

Basin Lake is a

within the Carrot River

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. It has no overland outflow and water levels are dependent upon spring run-off, intermittent creeks, the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

, and rainfall. As a result, water levels fluctuate greatly and extensive mudflats form near the lake's shoreline. Basin Lake is the end point in the

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

Lenore Lake basin, with lakes such as

Lenore Lake Lenore Lake is a partly saline lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is part of the Lenore Lake basin, which includes several saline lakes ( Basin, Middle, Frog, Ranch, Murphy, Flat, Mantrap, Houghton, Deadmoose, and Waldsea) a ...

, Frog Lake, and Middle Lake upstream. The lake is surrounded by farms and groves of aspen, willow, and white spruce. Until the 1970s, the lake supported a population of

whitefish Whitefish or white fish may refer to: Fish * Whitefish (fisheries term), referring to species commercially caught in the North Atlantic * Freshwater whitefish, members of the subfamily Coregoninae in the family Salmonidae, including: ** Atlant ...

but as the lake's salinity increased, the population could not be supported. The lake was formed in the 1890s after significant summer rains in 1896 soften the ground allowing a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

to rise up from an

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

in the nearby hills. Prior to the flooding, the area was a depression with a "mixture of bushes, sloughs and hay meadows." Eventually the lake's water level rose to match the aquifer's. The aquifer has a natural underground spring that flows into the

Carrot River Valley Carrot River Valley is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. Located in the east central area of Saskatchewan, this constituency was created by ''The Representation Act, 1994'' (Saskatchewan) out ...

Basin and Middle Lakes Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Basin Lake, and neighbouring Middle Lake, are part of the Basin and Middle Lakes Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS) and Basin and Middle Lakes (075)

(IBA) of Canada. The MBS was established on 9 March 1925 and "is a major resting and feeding area for migratory waterfowl and swans." The lakes, at about apart, were designated an IBA in 2001. The eastern part of Basin Lake and parts of Middle Lake are designated critical

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, Passerellidae, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band acro ...

habitat and is provincially protected under the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act. While Basin Lake averages about deep, Middle lake averages only about deep. Directly to the south-east is another migratory bird sanctuary at

. Basin and Middle Lakes provide important habitats to several bird species, including the

American white pelican The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Costa Rica, in winter. Taxonomy The Americ ...

double-crested cormorant The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska ...

, pied-billed grebe,

horned grebe The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (''Podiceps auritus'') is a relatively small and Threatened species, threatened species of waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two subspecies, ''P. a. auritus'' (Slavonian grebe), which breed ...

eared grebe The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. Its breeding plumage features distinctive ochre-coloured feathers which extend ...

western grebe The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe". Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America we ...

red-necked grebe The red-necked grebe (''Podiceps grisegena'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, althoug ...

California gull The California gull (''Larus californicus'') is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the herring gull, but larger on average than the ring-billed gull (though it may overlap in size with both). Although named after California, it can b ...

black tern The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water that breeds in Europe, Palearctic, Western Asia and North America. In winter the birds migrate to coastal areas of Africa and South America. Taxonomy T ...

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in Temperateness, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is stron ...

, and the

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax'') r black-capped night heron commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Nort ...

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Three Lakes No. 400, Saskatchewan Endorheic lakes of Canada Saline lakes of Canada Important Bird Areas of Saskatchewan

Description

Basin and Middle Lakes Migratory Bird Sanctuary

See also

References