Lake Wabamun (a Cree word meaning mirror), is one of the best-known lakes of
Alberta, lies about 60 KM due west of Edmonton, Alberta and about 2 KM south of
highway 16W. 1 hour west of the city of Edmonton or 3 1/2 hours northwest of
Calgary.
Lake Wabamun is a large shallow lake that is 19.2 km long and 6.6 km wide. Its long
fetch along with prevailing ( primarily westerly) winds can result in heavy wave action
and also provides superb sailing condition for sailing enthusiasts. The deepest area
reaching 11 m is at the western end. There are natural beaches along much of the
shoreline, but emergent vegetation restricts their use. The littoral zone (5 m depth)
includes 31% of lake bottom. Sandy areas are found at depths less than 2 m with soft
clay or organic sediments over most of the lake bottom.
The drainage basin surrounding the lake is about three times as wide as the lake
surface; the terrain is gently rolling to undulating hills to the south of the lake. The
native vegetation is dominated by trembling aspen, balsam poplar and willow with
white spruce in undisturbed areas. About half of the land is used for agriculture.
Coal is strip-mined extensively north and south of the lake. As coal excavation moves
west, the mined-out land is reclaimed, primarily for agricultural purposes, but
reclamation efforts will include recontouring and the return of native vegetation.Information Links for Lake Wabamun
Here are some public websites that could be of interest to sailors on Lake Wabamun
- Wabamun Watershed Managment Council
- Lake Wabamun Water Quality Report, August 2002
- Wabamun Lake Level Geodetic Table (current geodetic elevation, meters above sea level)
- Facts about Blue-Green Algae
- Facts about Algal Blooms
- International Lake Environment (ILEC) Database, Lake Wabamun Information
- Living by Water Project
- Alberta Lake Management Society
- Alberta's Surface Water Quality Guidelines
- Alberta Environment Homepage which Links to Many of the Above Sites
Some of these sites require the Adobe Acrobat Viewer.
