Lac des Mille Lacs

Last updated
Lac des Mille Lacs
Lake
Name origin:French for "Lake of a thousand lakes"
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Region Northwestern Ontario
District Thunder Bay
Tributaries
 - Primary InflowSavanne River
Elevation457 m (1,499 ft)
Coordinates 48°50′57″N90°30′38″W / 48.84917°N 90.51056°W / 48.84917; -90.51056 Coordinates: 48°50′57″N90°30′38″W / 48.84917°N 90.51056°W / 48.84917; -90.51056
Mouth Seine River
 - coordinates 48°58′46″N90°43′49″W / 48.97944°N 90.73028°W / 48.97944; -90.73028
Length30 km (19 mi)
Width20 km (12 mi)
Basin1,774.55 km2 (685 sq mi)
Area245.1 km2 (95 sq mi)
Canada Ontario location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Lac des Mille Lacs in Ontario.

Lac des Mille Lacs is a lake in the western part of Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Nelson River drainage basin and is the source of the Seine River. The lake lies between Ontario Highway 17 on the north and Ontario Highway 11 on the south about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the city of Thunder Bay.

Lake A body of relatively still water, in a basin surrounded by land

A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are also larger and deeper than ponds, though there are no official or scientific definitions. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Thunder Bay District District in Ontario, Canada

Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay.

Northwestern Ontario Secondary region in Ontario, Canada

Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the western part of the region. Ontario's right to Northwestern Ontario was determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1884 and confirmed by the Canada Act, 1889 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 1912, the Parliament of Canada by the Ontario Boundaries Extension Act gave jurisdiction over the District of Patricia to Ontario, thereby extending the northern boundary of the province to Hudson Bay.

Contents

Lac des Mille Lacs has an area of 245.1 square kilometres (94.6 sq mi) and a drainage basin of 1,774.55 square kilometres (685.16 sq mi). [1] The named inflows are the Savanne River and McKay Creek at Sawmill Bay at the northeast, Joe's Creek at Baril Bay at the southwest, and Inwood Creek at the north. The only outflow, at the northwest tip of the lake, is the Seine River, which flows to Rainy Lake and eventually via the Nelson River to Hudson Bay. The lake has numerous arms, named bays and named islands.

Rainy Lake lake in Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, United States

Rainy Lake is a relatively large freshwater lake straddling the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake and is harnessed to make hydroelectricity for US and Canadian locations. The sister cities of International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario, are situated on either side of the outflow of the river from the lake. Rainy Lake and Rainy River establish part of the boundary between the US state of Minnesota and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Hudson Bay A large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada

Hudson Bay is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of 1,230,000 km2 (470,000 sq mi). It drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 km2 (1,490,900 sq mi), that includes parts of southeastern Nunavut, Saskatchewan, most of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and indirectly through smaller passages of water to parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay.

Roads

The lake is served by Lac des Mille Lacs Road, which connects the lake to Highway 17 near Upsala.

Ontario Highway 17 highway in Ontario

King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba boundary 50 km (31 mi) west of Kenora and the main section ends where Highway 417 begins just west of Arnprior. A small disconnected signed section of the highway still remains within the Ottawa Region between County Road 29 and Grants Side Rd. This makes it Ontario's longest highway.

Upsala, Ontario Place in Canada

Upsala is an unincorporated community and geographic township in Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located along the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 17, 142 kilometres (88 mi) west of Thunder Bay, part of the Unorganized Thunder Bay District.

Lac des Mille Lacs Dam

The outflow to the Seine River is controlled by the Lac des Mille Lacs Dam, owned by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and operated by the Valerie Falls Limited Partnership (Brookfield Renewable Power). [1] The first dam at the site was built of stone by Simon James Dawson of the Department of Public Works Canada in 1873 to improve water flow for navigation to the vicinity of the Red River of the North far downstream. [2] This dam was replaced in 1926 by a timber dam to regulate water flow used for hydroelectric power production downstream on the Seine River and Rainy River. [2] The current concrete [2] structure was built in 1952 with seven sluices, each with eight logs. [1] With all logs, the maximum sill height is 457 metres (1,499 ft), and without any the minimum height is 454.6 metres (1,491 ft 6 in). [1]

Simon James Dawson Canadian politician

Simon James Dawson was a Canadian civil engineer and politician.

Red River of the North Canadian and American river

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming most of the border of Minnesota and North Dakota and continuing into Manitoba. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into Hudson Bay.

Hydroelectricity electricity generated by hydropower

Hydroelectricity is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.

The dam project is one of several in the region which has been cited by the Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation as having displaced them from their traditional territories, including the Lac des Mille Lacs 22A1 reserve on the shore of the lake, due to flooding. [3] The First Nation, which is currently dispersed throughout Northwestern Ontario rather than living on its traditional lands, has a land claim pending negotiation with the federal and provincial governments. [3]

The Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation, also known as Nizaatikoong, is a Saulteaux Ojibwe First Nation band government. The nation owns two reserves in the Thunder Bay District of Ontario, Lac des Mille Lacs 22A1 on the northeastern shore of Lac des Mille Lacs and Lac des Mille Lacs 22A2 at the junction of the Seine and Firesteel Rivers.

Aboriginal title Concept in common law of indigenous land rights persisting after colonization

Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, the content of aboriginal title, the methods of extinguishing aboriginal title, and the availability of compensation in the case of extinguishment vary significantly by jurisdiction. Nearly all jurisdictions are in agreement that aboriginal title is inalienable, and that it may be held either individually or collectively.

Tributaries

clockwise from the Seine River outflow

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Lac des Mille Lacs Dam". Seine River Watershed. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Seine River Watershed. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  3. 1 2 "Anishinaabe Iraq war vet completes cross-country walk with Indian Act chained to body" Archived 2013-04-29 at the Wayback Machine .. APTN National News , September 4, 2012.

  • "Lac des Mille Lacs". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  • "Topographic Map sheets 52B15, 52B16". Atlas of Canada . Natural Resources Canada. 2010-02-04. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2010-08-07.

The Department of Natural Resources, operating under the FIP applied title Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is the ministry of the government of Canada responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing. It was created in 1995 by amalgamating the now-defunct Departments of Energy, Mines and Resources and Forestry. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) works to ensure the responsible development of Canada's natural resources, including energy, forests, minerals and metals. NRCan also uses its expertise in earth sciences to build and maintain an up-to-date knowledge base of our landmass and resources. To promote internal collaboration, NRCan has implemented a departmental wide wiki based on MediaWiki. Natural Resources Canada also collaborates with American and Mexican government scientists, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, to produce the North American Environmental Atlas, which is used to depict and track environmental issues for a continental perspective.

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