Opuntia Lake is a shallow, man-made

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 ...

. It was formed with the construction of the Opuntia Control along Eagle Creek in 1946. The lake is in the Mixed Moist Grassland

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 ...

of the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

and the entire lake is part of the Opuntia Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS). The nearest community is Plenty and there are no public facilities at the lake. The nearest highway is Highway 31. The town of Biggar is about to the north-east.

Opuntia Lake MBS

Opuntia Lake MBS is a migratory bird sanctuary that encompasses all of Opuntia Lake and covers an area of . It was founded in 1952 and is an important stop-over for migratory birds as it is "strategically positioned along a major flyway for geese and other waterfowl". Birds commonly found at the MBS include the

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

white-fronted goose The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose, closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). The greater white-fronted goose is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Gre ...

snow goose The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...

Ross's gull Ross's gull (''Rhodostethia rosea'') is a small gull, the only species in its genus, although it has been suggested the genus should be merged with the closely related '' Hydrocoloeus'', which otherwise only includes the little gull. This bird ...

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic Range (biology), distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is bird migration, migratory an ...

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's S ...

, and the

tundra swan The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the w ...

Opuntia Lake Control

Opuntia Lake Control () is a dam built in 1946 along the course of Eagle Creek. It created Opuntia Lake, which is a reservoir with a volume of and is operated by the

Saskatchewan Water Security Agency The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (before 2013, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) is an arm's length organization responsible for the management of water resources to ensure safe drinking water sources and reliable water supplies for eco ...

. The dam measures high.

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Dams in Saskatchewan Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada Winslow No. 319, Saskatchewan Mountain View No. 318, Saskatchewan Saline lakes of Canada Dams completed in 1946

Opuntia Lake MBS

Opuntia Lake Control

See also

References