Townsend Lake[1] is a lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the east-central part of the province in the Porcupine Hills and Porcupine Provincial Forest. The lake is in the Woody River Block of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park.[2] Highway 980 provides access to the east side of the lake and its amenities.[3][4] Several small creeks feed into the lake from the surrounding hills, lakes, and muskeg. The outflow is a short river at the eastern end of the lake that flows into the western end of Woody Lake.[5]

Townsend Lake
Townsend Lake is located in Saskatchewan
Townsend Lake
Townsend Lake
Location in Saskatchewan
Townsend Lake is located in Canada
Townsend Lake
Townsend Lake
Townsend Lake (Canada)
LocationPorcupine Hills Provincial Park,  Saskatchewan
Coordinates52°28′58″N 101°44′19″W / 52.4828°N 101.7385°W / 52.4828; -101.7385
Catchment areaWoody River
Basin countries Canada
Surface area173.5 ha (429 acres)
Max. depth10.4 m (34 ft)
Shore length17.2 km (4.5 mi)
Surface elevation691 m (2,267 ft)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The lake is named in memory of Flight Sergeant Robert Wilfred Ernest Townsend who died fighting in World War II on 29 July 1944.[6] Since 1947 Saskatchewan started naming lakes after fallen soldiers and now there are more than 4,000 such lakes in the province.[7][8]

Parks and recreation

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Prior to the formation of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park in 2018, the parkland around Townsend Lake was a provincial recreation site called Woody River Recreation Site. The recreation site has a campground with 33 campsites, a boat launch, two fish cleaning stations, and a picnic area.[9][10]

Moose Range Lodge, located on the northern shore of the lake, is an outfitters with modern cabins, boat rentals, fuel, and a restaurant. In the winter, the lodge is the centre for snowmobiling in the park.[11][12]

Fish species

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Fish commonly found in the lake include walleye, perch, and northern pike.[13][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Townsend Lake". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Porcupine Hills Provincial Park". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  3. ^ "mindat.org". Townsend Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Townsend (Clear) Lake Fishing Map". GPS Nauticals. Bist LLC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Townsend Lake, Saskatchewan Map". Geodata.us. Geodata.us. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Fishing the Porcupine Hills lakes". Sasktoday. Glacier Media Group. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  7. ^ Budanovic, Nikola (3 March 2018). "Since 1947 Canada has named its Lakes after Soldiers who lost their lives". War History Online. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  8. ^ Chisholm, Doug (6 November 2017). "Lest We Forget". Saskatchewan Government. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Townsend Lake". Sites.google. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Townsend Lake Campground". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Moose Range Lodge". Moose Range Lodge. Moose Range Lodge. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Moose Range Lodge". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Townsend Lake". Fishbrain. Fishbrain. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Angler's Atlas".