The Athabasca Basin is a region in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta , Canada . It is best known as the world's leading source of high-grade uranium and currently supplies about 20% of the world's uranium.
15-467: The basin is located just to the south of Lake Athabasca , west of Wollaston Lake , and encloses almost all of Cree Lake . It covers about 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi) in Saskatchewan and a small portion of Alberta. The surface of the basin consists of main sandstone sediment varying from 100 to 1,000 metres (330 to 3,280 ft) in depth. The uranium ore is mostly found at
30-467: A " Provincial Wilderness Park " in 1992. Lake Athabasca contains 23 species of fish, with a world record lake trout of 46.3 kilograms (102 lb) caught from its depths in 1961 by means of a gillnet . Other fish species include walleye , yellow perch , northern pike , goldeye , lake whitefish , cisco , Arctic grayling , burbot , white sucker , and longnose sucker . Philip Turnor Philip Turnor ( c. 1751 – c. 1799)
45-616: A billion litres of slurry poured into the Plante and Apetowun Creeks. The plume of waste products then joined the Athabasca River, travelling downstream for a month before settling in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan , over 500 kilometres (310 mi) away. The Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes , the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, are adjacent to the southern shore in Saskatchewan. The dunes were designated
60-623: Is 283 kilometres (176 mi) long, has a maximum width of 50 kilometres (31 mi), and a maximum depth of 124 metres (407 ft), and holds 204 cubic kilometres (49 cu mi) of water, making it the largest and one of the deepest lakes in both Alberta and Saskatchewan (nearby Tazin Lake is deeper), and the eighth largest in Canada. Water flows northward from the lake via the Slave River and Mackenzie River systems, eventually reaching
75-733: Is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is 26% in Alberta and 74% in Saskatchewan. The lake is fed by the Athabasca River and other rivers, and its water flows northward via the Slave River to the Mackenzie River system, eventually reaching the Arctic Ocean . The name in the Woods Cree language originally referred only to
90-479: The Arctic Ocean . Fort Chipewyan , one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta, is on the western shore of the lake, where the Rivière des Rochers drains the lake and flows toward Slave River , beginning its northward journey along the eastern boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park . The eastern section of the lake narrows to a width of about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) near the community of Fond du Lac on
105-766: The Key Lake mine and the McClean Lake mine . Former mines include the Cluff Lake mine and Gunnar mine . Dikes in the Athabasca Basin are related to the giant Mackenzie dike swarm . 58°26′46″N 108°19′55″W / 58.446°N 108.332°W / 58.446; -108.332 Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( / ˌ æ θ ə ˈ b æ s k ə / ATH -ə- BASK -ə ; French: lac Athabasca ; from Woods Cree: ᐊᖬᐸᐢᑳᐤ aðapaskāw , "[where] there are plants one after another")
120-629: The Peace–Athabasca Delta formed by the confluence of the Peace and Athabasca rivers at the southwest corner of the lake. Prior to 1789, Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the lake. In 1791, Philip Turnor , cartographer for the Hudson's Bay Company , wrote in his journal, "low swampy ground on the South side with a few willows growing upon it, from which the Lake in general takes its name Athapison in
135-564: The Southern Cree tongue which signifies open country such as lakes with willows and grass growing about them". Peter Fidler originally recorded the name for the river in 1790 as the Great Arabuska . By 1801, the name had gained a closer spelling to the current name—Athapaskow Lake. By 1820, George Simpson referred to both the lake and the river as "Athabasca". The lake covers 7,850 square kilometres (3,030 sq mi),
150-537: The base of this sandstone, at the point where it meets the basement . On the northern and eastern edges are the communities of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta and Camsell Portage , Stony Rapids , Fond du Lac , Black Lake and Wollaston Lake in Saskatchewan. Much of the Athabasca Basin is within the migratory range of the Beverly caribou herd a major source of sustenance for the Denesuline communities. Within
165-609: The basin are the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park on the south shore of Lake Athabasca and the Carswell crater . The Cluff Lake mine site is located in the crater area. Points North Landing , a permanent supply depot and camp, serves the eastern area of the basin. Road access to the area is provided by Saskatchewan Highway 955 from the village of La Loche on the west side and Saskatchewan Highway 914 and Saskatchewan Highway 905 north of
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#1732772917156180-471: The northern shore resulted in the birth of Uranium City, Saskatchewan , which was home to mine workers and their families. While the last mine closed in the 1980s, the effects of mining operations had already heavily contaminated the northern shores. The large oil sands mining nearby is suspected to have added to the current pollution levels in the lake. On October 31, 2013, one of Obed Mountain coal mine 's pits failed, and from between 600 million to
195-948: The northern shore then continues to its most easterly point at the mouth of the Fond du Lac River. Fidler Point on the north shore of Lake Athabasca is named for Peter Fidler , a surveyor and map maker for the Hudson's Bay Company . Along with other lakes such as the Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake , Lake Athabasca is a remnant of the vast Glacial Lake McConnell . Tributaries of Lake Athabasca include (going clockwise); Fond du Lac River, Otherside River, Helmer Creek, MacFarlane River, Archibald River, William River, Ennuyeuse Creek, Dumville Creek, Debussac Creek, Jackfish Creek, Claussen Creek, Old Fort River, Crown Creek, Athabasca River, Colin River, Oldman River, Bulyea River, Grease River and Robillard River. Uranium and gold mining along
210-543: The town of La Ronge on the east side. Uranium was discovered in the region in the 1940s. The first mine in the area was the Rabbit Lake Mine , which was discovered in 1968 by Gulf Mineral Resources and opened in 1975. The most important current mine is Cameco 's McArthur River mine , the world's largest high-grade uranium mine. Other uranium mines in the Athabasca Basin include the Cigar Lake Mine ,
225-621: Was a surveyor and cartographer for the Hudson's Bay Company . Turnor hired on for three years as an inland surveyor with the HBC and landed at York Factory , now in Manitoba , in August 1778. After mapping York itself, he set out to map the route to Cumberland House , now in Saskatchewan , and the newly-established post of Upper Hudson House. He is credited with exploring and mapping many of
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