Mission Lake, also known as Lebret Lake, is a lake 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 ...
of
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 one of four lakes in the
Qu'Appelle Valley
The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...
known as the
Fishing Lakes.
Echo Lake is upstream and
Katepwa Lake
Katepwa Lake () is a recreational lake in the Qu’appelle Valley in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake's name likely originated from the Cree word , which means "What is calling?" Katepwa Lake is eastern most and farthest downs ...
is downstream. The lake was named ''Mission'' after the Catholic mission at
Lebret.
Highways 22 35, and
56 provide access to the lake.
Mission Lake, as well as the other three Fishing Lakes, are all in the Qu'Appelle Valley, which was formed about 14,000 years ago during the
last ice age.
Meltwater
Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...
from the glaciers carved out the valley and as water levels rose and fell,
alluvium
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
was left in the wake. These piles of alluvium are what created the separations between the lakes.
The Qu'Appelle River is both the primary inflow and out flow. The river enters the lake at the west end, near the town of
Fort Qu'Appelle, and exits the lake at the south-east end. Echo Creek is a small creek that rises to the south-west near
McLean and enters the lake at the south-west corner.
Communities
Mission Lake is located in the
RM of North Qu'Appelle No. 187. At the western end is the town of
Fort Qu'Appelle, which sits between Mission and
Echo Lakes. The village of
Lebret and the adjoining
Wa-pii-moos-toosis Indian Reserve are on the northern shore along Highway 56. The
Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School was located on the Wa-pii-moos-toosis Indian Reserve.
Recreation
Mission Ridge Winter Park is a ski resort in the Qu'Appelle River valley near the south-west area of the lake. Syrian Beach is on the southern shore, near the east end and directly across the lake from Lebret. Lebret Provincial Recreation Site
is at the village of Lebret. It is a small park at Haffner Beach with a picnic area and boat launch.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in Mission Lake 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 ...
,
perch
Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...
, and
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 ...
.
Gallery
File:Lebretsaskatchewankjfmartin.jpg, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
Lebret, Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, 1921.jpg, Mission Lake and Lebret, 1921
File:Lxx1255 Boating, bathing and fishing, Como Park, Lebret.jpg, Mission Lake, c. 1920s
File:Echo Creek.jpg, Echo Creek, which flows into Mission Lake at the south-west corner, near Fort Qu'Appelle
File:Qu'Appelle Industrial School 1885.jpg, Mission Lake and Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Industrial School, May 1885
See also
*
List of lakes of Saskatchewan
This is a list of lakes of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada. The largest and most notable lakes are listed at the start, followed by an alphabetical listing of other lakes of the province.
Larger lake statistics
"The total area of a lake ...
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Division No. 6, Saskatchewan
North Qu'Appelle No. 187, Saskatchewan