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List of lakes of Alberta facts for kids

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Canadian Provinces and Territories

Welcome to a guide about the amazing lakes of Alberta, Canada! Alberta is a province in western Canada, known for its beautiful mountains, forests, and prairies. It has many different kinds of lakes, each with its own special features.

Most of Alberta's lakes were formed a very long time ago, about 12,000 years ago. This happened during the last ice age, when huge sheets of ice (glaciers) moved across the land. As the ice melted, it left behind hollows and valleys that filled with water, creating the lakes we see today.

You can find many types of lakes here. Some are clear, cold glacial lakes high up in the Canadian Rockies. Others are small, shallow lakes in the prairies, which are flat grasslands. In the northern boreal forest and muskeg (a type of boggy wetland), you'll find lakes with brownish water. There are also large lakes with sandy beaches and clear water in the central plains.

The lakes are not spread evenly across Alberta. The wet northern plains have many lakes. However, the drier southeastern part of the province, known as Palliser's Triangle, has very few.

How Water Flows: River Basins

Most of Alberta's water flows towards the north or northeast. Six main rivers collect this water and carry it out of the province. These rivers form four major watersheds. A watershed is like a giant bowl where all the rain and melted snow eventually drain into one river or lake.

It can be tricky to see exactly where one watershed ends and another begins. For example, there is only a short distance of about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) between Lac la Biche and Beaver Lake. Yet, Lac la Biche's water goes to the Arctic Ocean, while Beaver Lake's water goes to Hudson Bay!

Alberta's Biggest Lakes

Lake Athabasca is the largest lake in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. It covers a huge area of 7,850 square kilometers (3,030 square miles). About 2,295 square kilometers (886 square miles) of this lake are in Alberta, and the rest is in Saskatchewan.

The largest lake that is completely inside Alberta is Lake Claire. It covers 1,436 square kilometers (554 square miles). Lake Claire is located just west of Lake Athabasca, both in the remote Peace-Athabasca Delta.

Here is a list of Alberta's largest lakes, all bigger than 100 square kilometers (39 square miles):

Alberta lakes larger than 100 km2
Lake Area (including islands) Elevation Depth max. Volume
Lake Athabasca 7,850 km2 213 m 124 m 204 km3
Lake Claire 1,436 km2 213 m
Lesser Slave Lake 1,160 km2 578 m 20.5 m 13.69 km3
Bistcho Lake 426 km2 552 m 6.7 m
Cold Lake 373 km2 535 m 99.1 m
Utikuma Lake 288 km2 641 m 5.5 m
Lac la Biche 234 km2 544 m 21.3 m
Beaverhill Lake 139 km2 668 m 2.3 m
Calling Lake 138 km2 529 m 18.3 m
Pakowki Lake 123 km2 860 m
Winefred Lake 123 km2 594 m 15.3 m

List of Lakes in Alberta

This section lists many lakes found in Alberta, including the large ones mentioned above. The lakes are listed in alphabetical order by their main name. For example, "Lac la Nonne" is listed under "N". You can use the table's sort function to arrange the list differently if you like.

Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Lake Watershed Basin Area (km2) Remarks
Abraham Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 53.7 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Adolphus Lake Smoky River Arctic Ocean 0.18 a small mountain lake fed by glaciers
Lake Agnes Bow River Hudson Bay 0.52 a small mountain lake fed by glaciers
Amisk Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 5.3  
Angle Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay  
Lake Annette Athabasca River Arctic Ocean a small mountain lake fed by glaciers
Lake Athabasca Slave River Arctic Ocean 7,850 two thirds of this lake are in Saskatchewan
Baptiste Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 9.8  
Barreyre Lake • • • •
Barrier Lake Kananaskis River Hudson Bay 2.6 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Battle Lake Battle River Hudson Bay 4.6  
Baxter Lakes • • • •
Bearhills Lake Battle River Hudson Bay
Beauvais Lake Oldman River Hudson Bay 0.9  
Beauvert Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 0.4  
Beaver Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 33.1  
Beaverhill Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 139 This area is important for shorebirds
Lac la Biche Beaver River Hudson Bay 236  
Big Lake Sturgeon River Hudson Bay 21.4  
Bistcho Lake Petitot River Arctic Ocean 426  
Bonnie Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 3.77  
Bourgeau Lake        
Bow Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 3.21 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Brander Lake • • • •
Brokenleg Lake • • • •
Buck Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 25.4  
Brûlé Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 14.5 a lake formed along the Athabasca River
Buffalo Lake Red Deer River Hudson Bay 93.5  
Calling Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 134  
Cardinal Lake Peace River Arctic Ocean 50  
Chester Lake Spray River Hudson Bay 0.51 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Chestermere Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 2.7 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Chip Lake Lobstick River Arctic Ocean 73
Christina Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 21.3  
Lake Claire Peace River Arctic Ocean 1,436 the largest lake completely in Alberta
Coal Lake Battle River Hudson Bay 10.9 a long, narrow lake (a ribbon lake)
Cold Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 373 partly in Saskatchewan
Crawling Valley Reservoir South Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 25.1 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Dowling Lake • • • •
Driedmeat Lake Battle River Hudson Bay 16.5 a long, narrow lake (a ribbon lake)
Elbow Lake Elbow River Hudson Bay 0.53  
Elkwater Lake South Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 2.31  
Ethel Lake Cold River Hudson Bay  
Ewing Lake • • • •
Formby Lake • • • •
Frank Lake South Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 43.74  
Gadsby Lake • • • •
Ghost Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 11.6 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Glacier Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 2.5 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Gleniffer Lake Red Deer River Hudson Bay 17.6 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Glenmore Reservoir Elbow River Hudson Bay 3.8 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Gull Lake Red Deer River Hudson Bay 80.6  
Headwall Lakes Kananaskis River Hudson Bay 0.66 two mountain lakes fed by glaciers (0.45+0.21 km2)
Hector Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 5.23 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Hidden Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 0.4 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Hoselaw Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 0.4
Hutch Lake • • • •
Ipiatik Lake • • • •
Isle Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 23 also known as Lake Isle
Jessie Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 5.5  
Kinikinik Lake Peace River Arctic Ocean  
Lower Kananaskis Lake Kananaskis River Hudson Bay 6.0 an original lake that was made larger by humans (a reservoir)
Upper Kananaskis Lake Kananaskis River Hudson Bay 8.4 an original lake that was made larger by humans (a reservoir)
Lessard Lake • • 3.21 •
Lesser Slave Lake Lesser Slave River Arctic Ocean 1,160 the second largest lake completely in Alberta
Lake Louise Bow River Hudson Bay 0.8 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Maligne Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 19.7 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Lower Mann Lake Beaver River closed basin 5.10
Upper Mann Lake Beaver River closed basin 4.59
McGregor Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 51.4 a reservoir
Medicine Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 3.7  
Milk Reservoir Milk River Gulf of Mexico 14 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Lake Minnewanka Bow River Hudson Bay 21.5 a mountain lake fed by glaciers, made larger by a dam
Moose Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 40.8  
Moraine Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 0.5 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Muriel Lake Beaver River closed basin 64.1  
Musreau Lake Kakwa River Hudson Bay 5.49  
Nakamun Lake Toad Creek Hudson Bay 3.54  
Lake Newell Bow River Hudson Bay 66.4 a lake created by humans (a reservoir)
Lac la Nonne Pembina River Arctic Ocean 12.28  
Pakowki Lake Milk River Gulf of Mexico 123.7 the largest lake in Southern Alberta
Peerless Lake Peace River Arctic Ocean 82.6  
Peyto Lake Mistaya River Hudson Bay 1.4 a mountain lake fed by glaciers
Pigeon Lake Battle River Hudson Bay 96.7  
Pinehurst Lake Sand River Hudson Bay 40.7  
Primrose Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 17.7 Most of this lake (444 km2) is in Saskatchewan.
Pyramid Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 1.2  
Rattlesnake Lake South Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 10.7  
Red Deer Lake Battle River Hudson Bay 21  
Lac Sante Hudson Bay
Saskatoon Lake Peace River Arctic Ocean 7.47  
Sikome Lake Bow River Hudson Bay 0.4 a lake created by humans for recreation in Calgary
Skeleton Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 7.89  
Spray Lakes Bow River Hudson Bay 19.9 a lake created by humans (a reservoir) that used to be several smaller lakes
Lac Ste. Anne North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 54.5  
Sauer Lake • • • •
Steele Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 6.61 used to be called Cross Lake because of its shape
Sturgeon Lake Smoky River Arctic Ocean 49.1  
Sylvan Lake Red Deer River Hudson Bay 42.8  
Telford Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 13
Thunder Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 7.03  
Touchwood Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 29  
Tucker Lake • • 6.65 •
Twin Lake • • 24ha •
Utikuma Lake Peace River Arctic Ocean 295  
Vermilion Lakes Bow River Hudson Bay 0.48 three lakes connected along the Bow River
Wabamun Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 81.8  
North Wabasca Lake Wabasca River Arctic Ocean 101.4
South Wabasca Lake Wabasca River Arctic Ocean 61.6
Waterton Lake Oldman River Hudson Bay 11.6 partly in Montana
Willow Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 25.8  
Winagami Lake Athabasca River Arctic Ocean 46.7  
Winefred Lake Clearwater River Arctic Ocean 122.8  
Wizard Lake North Saskatchewan River Hudson Bay 2.48  
Wolf Lake Beaver River Hudson Bay 31.5  
Zama Lake Hay River Arctic Ocean 55.5  

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