Abraham Lake, also known as Lake Abraham, is an artificial

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

and Alberta's largest reservoir. It is located in the "Kootenay Plains area of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

' front range", on 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 event ...

in western

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Description

Abraham Lake has a surface area of and a length of . Although man-made, the lake has the blue color of other

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

lakes in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, which is caused by

rock flour Rock flour, or glacial flour, consists of fine-grained, silt-sized particles of rock, generated by mechanical grinding of bedrock by glacial erosion or by artificial grinding to a similar size. Because the material is very small, it becomes suspe ...

. Abraham Mountain, Elliott Peak, and the Cline River Heliport are located on the western shore of the lake.

Mount Michener Mount Michener is a mountain on the eastern border of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, Canada. It forms the northerly part of the Ram Range. The mountain sits on the shore of Abraham Lake and its north, west and south face are all visible from t ...

is situated on the eastern shore. Mount Ernest Ross lies at the southern tip of the lake.

History

Abraham Lake was created by the former Calgary Power Company, now

TransAlta TransAlta Corporation (formerly Calgary Power Company, Ltd.) is an electricity power generator and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a privately owned corporation and its shares are traded publicly. It o ...

, in 1972, with the construction of the

Bighorn Dam Bighorn Dam (or ''Bighorn Hydro Plant'') is an embankment dam in Clearwater County in west-central Alberta, Canada. It was built by Calgary Power in 1972, and led to the creation of Lake Abraham, Alberta's largest reservoir. The dam and associa ...

. Planning of the dam involved no evaluation of the social and environmental effects it may have caused and no public hearings were held prior to the construction. Construction of the Bighorn Dam flooded the Kootenay Plains and stopped the livelihood (hunting and fur trapping) of the Bighorn band of the

Stoney Nakoda First Nation Stoney Nakoda First Nation () is a Nakoda First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. It is located West of Calgary, in the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Stoney Nakoda First Nation comprises three Nakoda Tribes: * Bearspaw First Nation Band ...

that had lived in that area. It had flooded their cabins, graves and pastures. The lake was built on the upper course of the

, in the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

of the

, and lines David Thompson Highway between Saskatchewan River Crossing and

Nordegg Nordegg is a hamlet (place), hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within Clearwater County, Alberta, Clearwater County. It is in the North Saskatchewan River valley in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, foothills of the Canadian Rockies, just east ...

. The

Government of Alberta The Government of Alberta () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. In modern Canadian use, the term ''Government of Alberta'' refers specifically to the executive� ...

sponsored a contest to name the lake in February 1972, during the final stages of construction of the Bighorn Dam. Students across the province were asked to submit names taking into consideration "historical significance, prominent persons, geography and topography, and the value of the lake." It was eventually named after Silas Abraham ( – 1964), of the

and originally from Morley, Alberta. He was a farmer and hunter who lived in the Kootenay Plains and later on the Big Horn 144A reserve.

Phenomenon

Trapped methane causes frozen bubbles to form under the ice on the lake's surface. This phenomenon results when decaying plants on the lake bed release

methane gas Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

, which creates bubbles that become trapped within the ice, in suspended animation, just below the surface as the lake begins to freeze. The visual effects formed by the resulting stacks of bubbles, frozen while rising toward the surface, combined with the clear blue water, have made Abraham Lake a popular destination for photographers and nature observers. The ice coverage of the lakes varies throughout the winter. Abraham Lake is usually frozen by late December. Ideal viewing of the ice bubble season is from mid-January to mid-February.

References

External links

* * Clearwater County, Alberta Lakes of Alberta North Saskatchewan River Reservoirs in Alberta {{CentralAlberta-geo-stub

Description

History

Phenomenon

See also

References

External links