The largest alpine lake in North America is Great Slave Lake, which spans an area of 4,872 square kilometers and holds a volume of 1.2 trillion liters. It’s located on the border between Northwest Territories and Nunavut and has a drainage basin that extends into Yukon Territory as well as Alberta and British Columbia. The highest point on the lake shoreline is Mount Albert Edward at 899 meters above sea level, but there are no islands or peninsulas for this large body of water to be named after.
The Great Slave Lake is known for its fishing, and there are several species of fish to be found here. The lake is home to pike, lake trout, walleye, arctic grayling, and whitefish.
The Great Slave Lake is long-lasting (over 50 years) as well as deep – with a maximum depth of 213 meters, it’s the fifth-deepest lake in North America. It freezes over completely every winter, which can last from October to May, depending on how cold the weather is.
The Great Slave Lake is also known for its high wind speeds, which can reach up to 100 miles per hour. These winds are often responsible for transporting smoke from the wildfires raging in British Columbia all the way north towards Nunavut and Northwest Territories during summer.
There are several First Nations people who live around the lake, including the Slavey, Tlicho and Denesuline.
The Great Slave Lake is the second-largest in Canada – only after Great Bear Lake at 31,328 square kilometers. It’s also a large source of freshwater for North America, with its area being four times that of Vermont!
There are no roads surrounding or crossing over the lake. There are also no islands or peninsulas that surround the Great Slave Lake, which means it’s not named after any specific person.
