Great Bear Lake
Great Bear Lake in the boreal forest of Canada is the largest lake entirely in Canada, the fourth-largest in North America, and the eighth-largest in the world. The lake is in the Northwest Territories, on the Arctic Circle between 65 and 67 degrees of northern latitude and between 118 and 123 degrees western longitude, above sea level. It drains into the Great Bear River, thence into the Mackenzie River.
The name originated from the Chipewyan word satudene, meaning "grizzly bear-water people". The Sahtu, a Dene people, are named after the lake. Grizzly Bear Mountain, or Sahoyue, on the shore of the lake also comes from Chipewyan, meaning "bear-large hill".
Sahoyue, a peninsula on the south side of the lake, and Edacho, another peninsula on the west side, form the Saoyú-ʔehdacho National Historic Site of Canada.
Geography
The lake has a surface area of and a volume of. Its maximum depth is and average depth. The shoreline is and the catchment area of the lake is. Great Bear Lake is covered with ice from late November to July.The lake is known for its considerable clarity. Explorer John Franklin wrote in 1828 that a white rag placed in the water did not disappear until it exceeded a depth of.
Arms
Arms of Great Bear Lake include the Smith Arm, the Dease Arm, the McTavish Arm, the McVicar Arm and the Keith Arm. The community of Délı̨nę is located on the Keith Arm near the outflow of the Great Bear River that flows west into the Mackenzie River at Tulita.Tributaries
Rivers flowing into Great Bear Lake include the Whitefish River, Big Spruce River, Haldane River, Bloody River, Sloan River, Dease River and the Johnny Hoe River.Geology and geomorphology
Great Bear Lake lies between two major physiographic regions: the Kazan Uplands portion of the Canadian Shield and the Interior Plains. It was part of glacial Lake McConnell in the pre-glacial valleys reshaped by ice erosion during the Pleistocene. Since, the lake has changed from post-glacial rebound following the ice melting. Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield form the eastern margin of the McTavish Arm. These rocks of the Precambrian are sedimentary and metamorphic deposits supplemented by igneous intrusions forming dikes and sills.Climate
Human use
The community of Délı̨nę is on the lake, near the headwaters of the Bear River. There is an ice crossing from Délı̨nę to the winter road on the far side of the Great Bear River.On 5 March 2016, a tank truck fell partway through the ice road just a few days after the government had increased the allowed maximum weight limit to on the road. The truck, which was outside of Délı̨nę and close to the community's fresh water intake, as well as a major fishing area, contained approximately of heating fuel and was one of 70 truck loads intended to resupply the community. The fuel was removed from the truck by 2 am, 8 March.
Three lodges around the lake are destinations for fishing and hunting. In 1995, a lake trout was caught, the largest ever caught anywhere by angling.