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Great Bear Lake (Slavey: Sahtu, French: Grand lac de l'Ours) is the largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the fourth largest in North America, and the eight largest in the world. The lake is situated on the Arctic Circle between 65 and 67 degrees of northern latitude and between 118 and 123 degrees western longitude, 186 m (610 ft) above sea level.
The lake has a surface area of 31,153 km² (12,028 mi²) and a total volume of 2,236 km³ (536 mi³). Its maximum depth is 446 m (1,463 ft) and its average depth 72 m (236 ft). The total shoreline is 2,719 km (1,690 mi) and the total catchment area of the lake is 114,717 km² (44,293 mi²).
The lake empties through the Great Bear River (Sahtu De) into the Mackenzie River. The only communities along the lake are Deline at the southwest end and Echo Bay on the northeast side.
The Sahtu Dene people took their name from the lake.
The Prehistory
Great Bear Lake lies between two major physiographic regions: the Kazan Uplands portion of the Canadian Shield and the Interior Plains. Originally it was part of preglacial valleys that were reshaped by erosional effects of ice during the Pleistocene. Since then, the lake has undergone various changes resulting from rebound following the melting of the ice.
Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield form the eastern margin of the McTavish Arm. These rocks of the Precambrian are made up of sedimentary and metamorphic deposits supplemented by igneous intrusions forming dikes and sills.
Climate
Between 1950 and 1974, this climatic data was collected at Port Radium:
| Month | Temperature (°C) | Precipitation (mm) | Bright sunshine (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | –27.0 | 11 | 0.19 |
| Feb | –27.0 | 8 | 1.82 |
| Mar | –19.1 | 14 | 7.57 |
| Apr | –10.7 | 6 | 16.03 |
| May | +1.2 | 14 | 21.76 |
| Jun | +9.0 | 14 | 23.16 |
| Jul | +12.0 | 35 | 18.54 |
| Aug | +10.6 | 43 | 11.97 |
| Sep | +5.3 | 25 | 6.20 |
| Oct | –3.2 | 27 | 2.85 |
| Nov | –14.8 | 25 | 0.39 |
| Dec | –23.0 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Average | –7.2 | 10 | |
| Total | 236 |
See also
External links
Lakes of the Northwest Territories
Great Bear Lake | Großer Bärensee | Suur Karujärv | Gran Lago del Oso | Grand lac de l'Ours | Lacus Ursa Maior | Great Bear Lake | グレートベア湖 | Wielkie Jezioro Niedźwiedzie | Veľké medvedie jazero | Iso Karhujärvi | Велике Ведмеже озеро
"Great Bear Lake"