Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (after Great Bear Lake), the deepest lake in North America at 614 m (2,014 ft), and the tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It is 469 km (291 mi) long and 20 to 203 km (12 to 126 mi) wide. It covers an area of 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi) in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from 1,070 km3 (260 cu mi) to 1,580 km3 (380 cu mi) and up to 2,088 km3 (501 cu mi) making it the 10th or 12th largest by volume.
| Great Slave Lake | |
|---|---|
| Tıdeè (Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì) Tinde’e (Wıìlıìdeh Yatii/Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé) Tu Nedhé (Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé) Tucho (Dehcho Dene Zhatıé) | |
NASA photo of Great Slave Lake and Lake Athabasca | |
Great Slave Lake | |
| Location | Northwest Territories |
| Coordinates | 61°30′01″N 114°00′04″W |
| Lake type | Glacial |
| Primary inflows | Hay River, Slave River, Taltson River, Lockhart River, Yellowknife River, Snare River (through Marian Lake and Frank Channel), Marian River (through Marian Lake and Frank Channel), Stark River |
| Primary outflows | Mackenzie River |
| Catchment area | 971,000 km2 (375,000 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 469 km (291 mi) |
| Max. width | 203 km (126 mi) |
| Surface area | 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 41 m (135 ft) |
| Max. depth | 614 m (2,014 ft) |
| Water volume | 1,115 km3 (268 cu mi)/ |
| Shore length1 | 3,057 km (1,900 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 156 m (512 ft) |
| Frozen | November - mid June |
| Settlements | Yellowknife, Hay River, Behchokǫ̀, Fort Resolution, Łutselk'e, Hay River Reserve, Dettah, Ndilǫ |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
The lake shares its name with the First Nations peoples of the Dene family called Slavey by their enemies the Cree. Towns situated on the lake include (clockwise from east) Łutselk'e, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Hay River Reserve, Behchokǫ̀, Yellowknife, Ndilǫ, and Dettah. The only community in the East Arm is Łutselk'e, a hamlet of about 350 people, largely Chipewyan Indigenous peoples of the Dene Nation, and the abandoned winter camp and Hudson's Bay Company post Fort Reliance. Along the south shore, east of Hay River is the abandoned Pine Point Mine and the company town of Pine Point.