Buffalo Lake
Buffalo Lake is located in Alberta
Buffalo Lake
Buffalo Lake
LocationCentral Alberta
Coordinates52°29′33″N 112°54′56″W / 52.49250°N 112.91556°W / 52.49250; -112.91556
TypeMesotrophic
Primary inflowsParlby Creek
Primary outflowsTail Creek
Catchment area1,440 km2 (560 sq mi)
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length17 km (11 mi)
Max. width7.5 km (4.7 mi)
Surface area93.5 km2 (36.1 sq mi)
Average depth2.8 m (9.2 ft)
Max. depth6.5 m (21 ft)
Surface elevation785 m (2,575 ft)
IslandsTony's Island
SettlementsBashaw, Rochon Sands, Mirror, White Sands, Alberta

Buffalo Lake is a large lake in central Alberta. It is located in at the limit between Camrose County, the County of Stettler No. 6 and Lacombe County, approximately 40 km (25 mi) east of Red Deer.

The lake lies in the Red Deer River basin, and has a water surface of 93.5 km2 and a drainage area of 1,440 km2.[1]

The recreational areas of Boss Hill, Rochon Sands, White Sands, Scenic Sands, Buffalo Sands. Pelican Point, Pelican View Estates (PVE), and The Narrows are established on the shores of the lake, as is the Rochon Sands Provincial Park.

Buffalo Lake is unique in Alberta in that it is actively "managed" via actively controlled inflow pumped in from the Red Deer River via Parlby Creek and outflow back into the Red Deer River via Tali Creek. Due to the lake's shallow and lack of natural outflows, its level would fluctuate more than other lakes so projects to manage the lakes water level were built and began operation in 1996.[2]

The lake has three main bays: First is the larger Main Bay which is 6.5 meters at its deepest point and has two islands. Second is Secondary Bay which is smaller than main bay and has one large island which is privately owned. Last is Parlby Bay (also known as mirror bay) which Is a lot smaller than the other bays and has Parlby Creek flowing through it. The lake supports a decent amount of Northern Pike and Burbot. There is also another shallow bay at the most northern part of the lake called Jarvis Bay.

References

  1. ↑ "Buffalo Lake". in Atlas of Alberta Lakes. University of Alberta Press. 1990. Retrieved 24 Nov 2019.
  2. ↑ "Parlby Creek - Buffalo Lake Water Management Project: Water Quality Update: 1999-2002" (PDF). in Atlas of Alberta Lakes. Government of Alberta. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2 July 2021.



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