| Chicken Lake | |
| Other Name: | Barrier Lake |
| Location: | Northern Saskatchewan Administration District |
| Coords: | 55.5189°N -101.9597°W |
| Type: | Lake |
| Part Of: | Churchill River drainage basin |
| Inflow: | Kipahigan Lake |
| Outflow: | Sisipuk Lake (Churchill River) |
| Basin Countries: | Canada |
| Agency: | Saskatchewan Water Security Agency |
| Cities: | None |
| Pushpin Map: | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Saskatchewan |
Chicken Lake,[1] also known as Barrier Lake, is a large, irregularly shaped lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake is within the Nelson–Churchill River basin, which is the third largest in North America.[2] [3] Chicken Lake's primary inflow is from a channel at its southern end connecting it to Kipahigan Lake. At the northern end, the lake is connected to Sisipuk Lake through the Swan River channel.[4] Sisipuk Lake is a lake along the course of the Churchill River.[5] Chicken Lake Dam is situated along Swan River connecting Chicken Lake to Sisipuk Lake. The Swan River, while only about long, has a drainage basin of about .
Kipahigan Sakahikan 222 Indian reserve is at the southern end of Chicken Lake. The reserve is also along the northern shores of Kipahigan Lake.[6]
Chicken Lake Dam was built in 1929 at Spruce Falls along the Swan River in the channel connecting Chicken Lake to Churchill River. It is high. The dam is owned and operated by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency.[7] In 1929, along with the dam, a hydroelectric power station was constructed on site. The power station was built to supply electricity for the construction of Island Falls hydroelectric power station upstream along the Churchill River. Initial construction began in 1928 and the power station was in operation from 20 March 1929 until 5 June 1930 when No. 1 Unit at Island Falls took up the load. The Spruce Falls power plant was disassembled and the generating units were transported to Island Falls.[8] [9]
Fish commonly found in Chicken Lake include burbot, cisco, lake whitefish, northern pike, sauger, and walleye.[10]