Blackstrap Lake is a man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in central

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 ...

, Canada, south of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in the Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314. The lake was created as a reservoir in 1967, as part of the Saskatoon South East Water Supply System. Blackstrap Lake has an area of (14.4 km x 0.8-1.2 km at a depth of 5.14 m) and is generally used to support irrigation, and the industrial and municipal water supply. The Blackstrap Coulee, or Valley, is an ancient spillway created by the melting of the

Wisconsin glacier The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleate ...

. Two formerly small and marshy lakes, Theresa Lake and Blackstrap Lake, were in the area now covered by the reservoir.

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples used the valley for hunting and shelter. European settlers farmed the flat land of the valley during dry seasons. Some of this flat land forms the present lake bed and is an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) of Canada. The Blackstrap Coulee (SK 078) IBA covers an area of and includes Blackstrap Lake and neighbouring Indi Lake. Two hundred and thirty-nine different species of birds have been recorded at Blackstrap Coulee. Some of them include the

western grebe The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe". Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America we ...

Franklin's gull Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name fo ...

black tern The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water that breeds in Europe, Palearctic, Western Asia and North America. In winter the birds migrate to coastal areas of Africa and South America. Taxonomy T ...

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 ...

bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his lan ...

stilt sandpiper The stilt sandpiper (''Calidris himantopus'') is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'' is a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''himant ...

red-necked phalarope The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...

, and the

Forster's tern Forster's tern (''Sterna forsteri'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and ''forsteri'' commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. It breeds inland in North America ...

. Blackstrap Lake is a major part of

Blackstrap Provincial Park Blackstrap Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the RM of Dundurn No. 314. Prior to the park's establishment in 1986, it was a provincial recreation site. The park runs along the eastern shore of B ...

. A recreation area was established soon after the completion of the lake, and further developed with a ski hill for the 1971

Canada Winter Games 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 ...

. The provincial park was established in 1986.

Blackstrap North and South Dams

The drought during the

Dirty Thirties The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...

prompted the construction of two dams, the

Gardiner Dam The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the third largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world. Construction on Gardiner Dam and the smaller Qu'Appelle River Dam was started ...

and

Qu'Appelle River Dam The Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two embankment dams along the South Saskatchewan River that created Lake Diefenbaker in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The bigger of the two dams is Gardiner Dam, which is the largest embankme ...

, along the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at the confluence of the Bow River, Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in ce ...

, creating

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in the southern part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was formed by the construction of the Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across ...

. The Gardiner Dam was built along the course of the river while the Qu'Appelle River Dam was built to allow for water from Lake Diefenbaker to flow into the

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just s ...

. A series of gravity-fed

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

and reservoirs originating from Lake Diefenbaker were also built to supply water to the areas south-east of

, with Blackstrap Lake being the largest reservoir. Blackstrap North and Blackstrap South Dams were constructed in 1967, and are 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 ...

. Blackstrap North Dam has a height of and length of while Blackstrap South Dam has a height of and length of . The dams store water to supply the villages of Thode and

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

, the PCS Allan potash mine (via the

Bradwell Reservoir Bradwell Reservoir is a man-made reservoir in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the Rural Municipality of Blucher No. 343. The reservoir was built as part of the South Saskatchewan River Project. That project involved the damming of the ...

) and the

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

Colonsay Colonsay (; ; ) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Isle of Mull, Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll and Bute and ...

potash mine (via

Zelma Reservoir Zelma Reservoir is a reservoir in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the Rural Municipality of Morris No. 312. It is about east-southeast of the town of Colonsay. The reservoir was built in 1967 as part of South Saskatchewan River Proj ...

). The aqueduct, or canal, that feeds Blackstrap Lake originates at Lake Diefenbaker and passes through two other man-made reservoirs en route. The aqueduct starts at Gardiner Dam and heads south paralleling the South Saskatchewan River. East of the town of

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, also referred to as ''the classic Outlook'' an e-mail client and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook for Windows, also referred to as ''the ...

, and just south of the village of

Broderick Broderick is a surname of early medieval English origin, and subsequently the Anglicised versions of names of Irish and Welsh origin. English origin The name was originally derived from "son of Baldric (or Baldrick)". Broderick or Broderic ...

, the aqueduct flows into Broderick Reservoir. From there, the canal meanders in a north-easterly direction until it meets Brightwater Reservoir. From Brightwater Reservoir, the canal heads straight north towards

Indi Lake Indi Lake is a man-made lake in central Saskatchewan, Canada, south of Saskatoon in the Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314. The lake was created for irrigation and recreation in 1967 by a dam located at its south end. The lake is part of a ...

. passing to the east of it and then under Highway 11 and into Blackstrap Lake. A canal exits the north end of Blackstrap Lake at the North Dam and supplies water to other reservoirs, such as

and Zelma Reservoir. File:Blackstrap South Dam 01.jpg, Blackstrap South Dam File:Blackstrap South Dam 02 aqueduct.jpg, The Aqueduct that feeds Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap South Dam 03.jpg, Blackstrap Lake inflow from the aqueduct, near South Dam

Local communities

Local communities on the shore of Lake Blackstrap include two villages, two

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

, and a

Hutterite Colony Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century and have formed intent ...

. The resort village of Thode is on the western shore, near the middle, directly across from the main beach at Blackstrap Provincial Park It is home to approximately 156 people. Most of the people in Thode live either directly on the lakeshore, or have an unobstructed view over Lakeshore Road which separates them from the lake. The resort village of

is on the north-western shore and is home to approximately 172 people. It has a golf course, which includes a view of Blackstrap Lake, that is maintained locally by the community of Shields. Unlike Thode, only a portion of Shields is lakefront property. In addition to the full-time residents, Shields and Thode have summer cottagers which are not reflected in the population statistics. Skyview Estates are located south of Thode along the western shore of the lake near the south end and is accessed from

Highway 11 Route 11, or Highway 11 can refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH11, Asian Highway 11 * European route E11 * European route E011 Argentina * Provincial Route 11 (Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires Provincial Route 11 Austr ...

. Skyview Estates have a view of the mountain, Mount Blackstrap, and the lake, and are directly across from the Blackstrap Provincial Park campgrounds. Skyview Estates also have their own marina allowing the residents unlimited access to the water. However, the estates themselves do not actually connect to the shore. The other subdivision is located on the north-eastern shore along an arm of the lake and is part of the Lakeside Golf Resort. Hillcrest Hutterite Colony is located along Thode Road, just west of Thode. It was established in 1969 and is a division of the Leask Hutterite Colony.

Fish species

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 ...

, whitefish, 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 ...

. There are custom fishing limits for all of these species on the lake.

Gallery

File:Blackstrap Lake 05.jpg, Pelicans at the southern end of Blackstrap Lake, across from the Blackstrap South Dam File:Blackstrap Lake 01.jpg, Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap Lake 02.jpg, Blackstrap Lake File:Blackstrap Lake 06.jpg, Blackstrap Lake

References

External links