Tobin Lake

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Tobin Lake
NASA Canada Nipawin and Tobin Lake.jpg
NASA image of Tobin Lake
Canada Saskatchewan relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Tobin Lake
Location in Saskatchewan
Canada relief map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Tobin Lake
Tobin Lake (Canada)
LocationFlag of Saskatchewan.svg  Saskatchewan
Coordinates 53°35′N103°30′W / 53.583°N 103.500°W / 53.583; -103.500
Type Reservoir
Primary inflows Saskatchewan River, Petaigan River
Primary outflows Saskatchewan River
Basin  countriesFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Max. length74 km (46 mi)
Max. width15 km (9.3 mi)
Surface area26,195.1 ha (64,730 acres)
Max. depth26 m (85 ft)
Water volume2,200,000 dam3 (7.8×1010 cu ft)
Shore length1252.1 km (156.6 mi)
Surface elevation335 m (1,099 ft)
Settlements Tobin Lake
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
E.B. Campbell Dam Spillway EB Campbell Dam Spillway.jpg
E.B. Campbell Dam Spillway

Tobin Lake [1] is a reservoir along the course of the Saskatchewan River in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Tobin Lake was formed by the building of the E.B. Campbell Dam (known as Squaw Rapids Dam until 1983) on the Saskatchewan River in 1963. Tobin Lake is named for William Thorburn, who was a fur trader on the Saskatchewan River. He had built a trading post on the Saskatchewan River where it is met by the Petaigan River. The rapids near the post became known as the "Thornburn Rapids". The name was later shortened to "Tobin Rapids". [2]

Contents

The town of Nipawin is near the western end of the lake and upstream from Nipawin along the Saskatchewan River is Codette Lake, which was formed by the construction of the Francois-Finlay Dam in 1986. Situated between these two man-made lakes, Nipawin earned the nickname The Town of Two Lakes.

Most of the lake is in the RMs of Moose Range No. 486 and Torch River No. 488; the northernmost shoreline is in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District. Access to the west and north side of the lake is from Highway 35, the east side from Highway 123, and on the south-west corner from Highway 255. [3] The resort community of Tobin Lake is on the southern shore and spread out along its over 250 kilometres (160 mi) of shoreline are several parks, outfitters, lodges, and campgrounds. The entire lake is an Important Bird Area of Canada.

Tobin Lake IBA

The entirety of Tobin Lake and the marshes on the western end are part of the Tobin Lake (SK 099) Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada. In total, the IBA covers 721.04 km2 (278.40 sq mi). Birds including tundra swans, American white pelicans, Bonaparte's gulls, and ring-billed gulls are found at the lake and neighbouring marshes. [4]

Parks and recreation

At the westernmost point of the lake is Maurice Street Wildlife Sanctuary ( 53°27′48″N103°55′56″W / 53.4634°N 103.9322°W / 53.4634; -103.9322 ). The Saskatchewan Natural History Society created the sanctuary in 1968. It preserves natural stands of boreal forest that harbours several species of birds and animals, such as woodpeckers, black bears, cougars, and raccoons. [5]

Tobin Lake Recreation Site ( 53°31′04″N103°48′09″W / 53.5177°N 103.8024°W / 53.5177; -103.8024 ) [6] is a provincial recreation site on the western shore of Tobin Lake. The park has a small campground called Caroll's Cove Campground. Caroll's Cove Campground has several well-treed campsites and rustic trappers' cabins that are semi-modern and sleep six set in boreal forest. The park also has a picnic area on the lake's shore, several marked hiking trails, and a number of fishing spots. [7] Access is from Highway 35.

East of Tobin Lake Recreation Site is Pruden's Point Resort. Pruden's Point has many campsites and modern cabins for rent and facilities include potable water, showers, and laundry. At the resort, there's also a picnic area, sandy beach, and lake access for fishing. [8] North of Pruden's Point, along Highway 35, is Tobin Lake Trophy Adventures. It is a two-storey, ten-bedroom outfitter's hunting and fishing lodge. [9] [10] Near the terminus of Highway 35 along the northern shore is Wilderness Ministries Bible Camp. [11]

On the south-western shore of Tobin Lake is Serenity Bay Resort. The resort has cabin rentals, beach access, a boat launch, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of hiking trails. [12] [13] North-east of Serenity Bay and south of the village of Tobin Lake on Highway 255 is Tobin Lake Leisure campground. [14] [15] On the southern edge of the village is Tobin Lake Hilltop Campground, which has RV campsites, beach and lake access, and mini-golf. [16]

Fish species

Tobin Lake is home to several species of fish including walleye, sauger, yellow perch, lake sturgeon, northern pike, goldeye, mooneye, lake whitefish, burbot, white sucker, longnose sucker, and shorthead redhorse. [17] [18]

Father Mariuz Zajac, from Carrot River, set the world ice fishing record for walleye here in 2005 with a catch of 8.3 kg (18 lb). [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Nipawin is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Saskatchewan River portion of Tobin Lake. The town lies between Codette Lake, created by the Francois-Finlay Dam and Tobin Lake, created by the E.B. Campbell Dam built in 1963, renamed from Squaw Rapids. The construction of Francois-Finlay Dam earned Nipawin the nickname the "Town of Two Lakes".

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Highway 35 is a paved undivided provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.. It runs from the US Border near Port of Oungre to a dead end near the north shore of Tobin Lake. Saskatchewan Highway 35 (SK Hwy 35) is about 569 kilometres (354 mi) long. The CanAm Highway comprises Saskatchewan Highways 35, SK Hwy 39, SK Hwy 6, SK Hwy 3, SK Hwy 2 and U.S. Route 85. 74.6 kilometres (46.4 mi) of SK Hwy 35 contribute to the CanAm Highway between Port of Oungre on the Canada – United States border and Weyburn. Mudslides, and spring flooding were huge road building and maintenance problems around Nipawin as well as along the southern portion of the route named the Greater Yellow Grass Marsh. Over 20 early dams were built until the problem was addressed with the Rafferty-Alameda Project on the Souris River and the construction of the Qu'Appelle River Dam which have helped to eliminate washed out roads and flooded communities. The highway through the homesteading community followed the Dominion Land Survey on the square until reaching the Saskatchewan River at Nipawin. The completion of the combined railway and traffic bridge over the Saskatchewan River at Nipawin in the late 1920s retired the ferry and basket crossing for traffic north of Nipawin. The E.B. Campbell Dam built in 1963 northeast of Nipawin created Tobin Lake, and Codette Lake was formed with the construction of the Francois-Finlay Hydroelectric dam at Nipawin. The railway/traffic bridge that formed part of Highway 35 was the only crossing utilized at Nipawin until a new traffic bridge was constructed in 1974. The new bridge then became part of the combined Highway 35 and 55 until the highway parts just east of White Fox. Highway 35 then continued north along the west side of Tobin Lake. The railway/traffic bridge continues to be utilized for one lane vehicle traffic controlled by traffic lights, and continues as the "old highway 35" on the west side of the river until it joins with the current Highway 35/55.

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References

  1. "Tobin Lake". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  2. "Nipawin Hydroelectric Station". Tourism Nipawin. Town of Nipawin. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. "Tobin Lake Fishing Map | Nautical Charts App".
  4. "Tobin Lake". IBA Canada. Birds Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  5. "Town of Nipawin". Nipawin. Town of Nipawin. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  6. "Tobin Lake Recreation Site". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. "Carroll's Cove Campground". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  8. "Tobin Lake Fishing | Prudens Point Resort | Saskatchewan". Prudenspoint. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  9. "Tobin Lake Trophy Adventures". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  10. "Tobin Lake Trophy Adventures". Tobin Lake Trophy Adventures. Tobin Lake Trophy Adventures. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  11. "Wilderness Ministries – Where Creator and creation meet" . Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. "Serenity Bay Resort". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  13. "Serenity Bay, Tobin Lake". Serenity Bay Resort. Serenity Bay on Tobin Lake / Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  14. "Tobin Lake RV Leisure & Storage Ltd". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  15. "Welcome to Tobin Lake Leisure". Tobin Lake Leisure. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  16. "Tobin Lake Hilltop Campgrounds & RV Park". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  17. "Tobin Lake". FishBrain. FishBrain. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. "Tobin Lake". Angler's Atlas. Angler's Atlas. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  19. "Fishing". Rusty Hook Tobin. Rusty Hook Tobin Enterprises. Retrieved 31 May 2023.