Christopher Lake is a recreational lake in the

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces ...

ecozone in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

. It is located south-east of Emma Lake and

Great Blue Heron Provincial Park Great Blue Heron Provincial Park is a recreational park in the central region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. It is adjacent to the eastern boundary of Prince Albert National Park, about north ...

in the central part of the province in the District of Lakeland No. 521. Access to Christopher Lake is from Highways 953 and

263 __NOTOC__ Year 263 ( CCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Dexter (or, less frequently, year 1016 ' ...

and it is about north of the city of Prince Albert. The community of Bell's Beach is located along the south-east corner of the lake and Clearsand Beach is along the western shore. The village of Christopher Lake is about from the south-eastern corner of the lake and Bell's Beach. Along much of the southern half of the lake are cabins, cottages, and summer homes.

Description

Christopher Lake is in the

Spruce River A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, which is in the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

watershed. There are no major creeks that flow into the lake as it has, at only , a small catchment area. The primary inflow for the lake is the man-made Christopher Lake diversion, which comes from neighbouring Emma Lake, and is part of the

Emma Lake diversion Emma Lake is a recreational lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located near the southern limit of the boreal forest, about north of Prince Albert. The lake is within the District of Lakeland No. 521 and east of Prince Alb ...

project. Christopher Creek flows out of the lake at the southern end near Bell's Beach and the village of Christopher Lake. Prior to the construction of the Emma and Christopher Lake diversions, neither lake connected directly to the Spruce River.

Christopher Lake diversion

In 1959, construction began on

Spruce River Dam Spruce River, also called Little Red River, is a river in the north-central region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It begins in the Waskesiu Hills in Prince Albert National Park and flows generally in a southward direction through ...

and the Emma Lake diversion project. The dam increased the size of

Anglin Lake Anglin Lake is a reservoir in the boreal forest ecozone in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is east of the Prince Albert National Park in the central part of the province in the District of Lakeland No. 521. Access to the lake is from ...

while the diversion drew water out of Anglin Lake and pumped it into Emma Lake. The construction of the dam was completed in 1960 and the first leg of the diversion channel was completed one year later in 1961. From a

pumphouse Pumphouse may refer to: Pumping station *Pumping station ** Cobblestone Railroad Pumphouse Ontario County, New York ** Polsterberg Pumphouse Upper Harz in central Germany ** New Pump-House, the Byrd Park Pump House, Richmond Virginia Theatres and ...

about one kilometre north-east of the dam, about are pumped annually into Emma Lake. The first part of the Christopher Lake diversion, which was completed in 1965, is a short channel that connects Emma Lake to Christopher Lake near Clearsand Beach. Within a few years, the inflow from the diversion had increased water levels in the lake by 2.2 metres compared to 1960 levels. Controlling the inflow to Christopher Lake is a grated

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

control structure through Highway 953. The outflow from Christopher Lake is via Christopher Creek and is controlled by a two-bay log-stop structure which controls flow into two culverts. The structure allows drawdown of both Emma and Christopher Lakes simultaneously. Christopher Creek is a partially natural run and partially constructed channel that flows out of Christopher Lake and heads south past Highway 263 towards the Little Red River Indian Reserve. It cuts through the eastern portion of the reserve and joins Spruce River just south of it. The Christopher Creek section of the Christopher Lake diversion project was completed in 1975.

Parks and recreation

Christopher Lake is a recreational lake with parks, campgrounds, Christian camps,

marina A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

s, swimming, boating, and fishing. The two marinas are located at the southern end of the lake – one at Bell's Beach the other at Slottens Bay. Kinasao Lutheran Bible Camp is located on the eastern shore while the other three Bible camps, Quest at Christopher Lake, Camp Kadesh, and Camp Christopher, are on the western shore. At the south-eastern corner of the lake at Slottens Bay is the Christopher Lake Nature Area. This park has three hiking trails totalling about three kilometres for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

and other wildlife viewing. In the winter, one of the trails is groomed for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

and

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

ing. The very northern tip of the lake is in

, though there no facilities related to the park there.

Fish species

Fish commonly found in the lake include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Lakeland No. 521, Saskatchewan

Description

Christopher Lake diversion

Parks and recreation

Fish species

See also

References