'Lake Manitoba' is Canada's thirteenth largest
lake (4,624 km²). It is in central
North America, in the
Canadian province of
Manitoba. It is located about 75 km northwest of the province's capital,
Winnipeg, at .
The irregularly shaped lake, about 200 km long, is the smallest of a group of three large lakes, the other two being
Lake Winnipeg (the largest) and
Lake Winnipegosis, which are found on the floor of the prehistoric
Glacial Lake Agassiz. The lake contains a large island with a lake in it; in that lake, there are also a few islands.
It is primarily fed by Lake Winnipegosis to its northwest via the
Waterhen River, and drains northeast into Lake Winnipeg via the
Dauphin River. It is thus part of the watershed of the
Nelson River and
Hudson Bay.
The southern tip of the lake, 24 km north of
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, ends in the Delta Marsh, an important staging ground for
migrating birds.
Communities on the lake include
Fairford,
Steep Rock,
St. Laurent, and
Amaranth.
The lake, its shores populated by the
Assiniboine Cree, was made known to Europeans by
La Vérendrye in the mid-
1730s. He and his sons travelled from
Fort La Reine through this lake to explore the Saskatchewan river and its environs. Forts were established on both the Saskatchewan and Cedar Lake. It also was part of the route of the
fur trade to Hudson Bay.
The name derives from
Cree ''manitou-wapow'' or
Ojibwa ''manitou-bah'', both meaning "
straits of
Manitou, the Great Spirit," a toponym referring to what are now called The Narrows in the centre of the lake. The lake was known to
French explorers as Lac des Prairies.
For many years there have been claims that a monster similar to the
Loch Ness Monster and
Ogopogo lives in the lake. It has been named
Manipogo.
Fishing
Lake Manitoba is one of the three main lakes in Manitoba's 30 million dollar annual commercial fishing industry.
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External links
★
Ice Fishing on Lake Manitoba with the Saint-Laurent Metis