Lac la Ronge is a

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

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 ...

. It is the fifth largest lake in the province and is approximately north of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, on the edge of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

La Ronge La Ronge is a List of municipalities in Saskatchewan, northern town in the boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is also the namesake of the larger #Population centre, La Ronge population centre, the largest ...

Air Ronge Air Ronge is a northern village in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 235 km north of Prince Albert. It lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, and is 3 km south of La Ronge and Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. According to 2006's census, ...

, and the

Lac La Ronge First Nation The Lac La Ronge Indian Band () is a Woodland Cree (''Sakāwithiniwak'') First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. It is one of the ten largest Cree (''Nîhithaw'') band governments in Canada, the largest First Nation in Saskatchewan, with the a ...

are on the western shore. The lake is a popular vacation spot. Recreational activities include

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

, and

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

Recreation and access

Lac La Ronge Provincial Park Lac La Ronge Provincial Park is located in the boreal forest of the north central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Canadian Shield. Situated in the Churchill River system, this provincial park has close to 100 lakes an ...

extends around the lake on three sides, starting at

and ending along the east shore. The park contains four

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

s, two of which are on the west shore of the lake, one is in the town of Missinipe (Missinipe is the

Woodland Cree The ''Sakāwithiniwak'' or Woodland Cree, are a Cree people, calling themselves Nîhithaw in their own dialect of the language. They are the largest indigenous group in northern Alberta and are an Algonquian people. Prior to the 18th century, ...

name for the Churchill River which is on the south-west shore of Otter Lake, which flows through the north side of the park), and the fourth one is on the east shore of

Nemeiben Lake Nemeiben Lake is a hamlet in north-central Saskatchewan, Canada. Part of the lake enclosed within the hamlet is located in the Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. It is 2 km from Lac la Ronge and 24 km from the town of La Ronge. Nemeibe ...

. There is also a hunting and fishing lodge north of

. Nistowiak Falls, on the Rapid River, which is the lake's primary outflow into the Churchill River and one of the tallest falls in Saskatchewan can be observed by canoe trails on the north side of the park. Highway 2 passes the lake on the west side, ending at La Ronge, where it becomes Highway 102.

Stanley Mission Stanley Mission () is a First Nations settlement in the boreal forest northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is on the banks of the Churchill River, northeast of the town of La Ronge, north of Prince Albert. Access is provided by H ...

can be accessed by Highway 915 on the north side of the park. The community is on the shores of the Churchill River across from the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Saskatchewan's oldest building.

Lac la Ronge Dam

The Lac la Ronge Dam (), which is an

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

, was constructed at the source of the Rapid River in 1966 to regulate the lake's water levels. It is high and contains four gates. The dam was upgraded in 2007 and a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...

was installed. Further upgrades were undertaken between 2017 and 2022 at a cost of $2.7 million. The upgrades included "strengthening the control structure and adding a modern steel structure over the spillway to install and remove stoplogs, along with seepage remediation".

Island ecology

The lake's numerous islands have been the focus of

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities o ...

studies investigating how island size and isolation influence the wildlife inhabiting them. In the northern half of the lake, you'll find over 1,300 ice age-carved granite islands.

Fish species

The lake's large bodied fish species include:

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii'') is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...

longnose sucker The longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus'') is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in riv ...

, and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

. Unlike other lakes in Saskatchewan, in addition to a provincial angling licence, a special angling endorsement was required to fish on Lac la Ronge from 1997 until 2017. The Lac la Ronge endorsement allowed anglers to keep up to four lake trout annually from the lake. It was put in place to reduce the harvest from sport fishing after the collapse of the lake trout population within Lac la Ronge. The endorsement was available free of charge from the Ministry of Environment office in La Ronge. Beginning in 2015, the Ministry also required anglers to keep a "Harvest Ledger", which was given alongside the endorsement to record when Lake Trout were harvested. In May 2017 when the 2017–18 fishing season opened the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment discontinued the endorsement and "Harvest Ledger" requirement. Lac la Ronge may now be fished with only a provincial angling licence but has reduced limits for lake trout, northern pike and walleye, along with the mandatory use of barbless hooks.

References

External links