| Moose Mountain Lake | |
| Location: | Saskatchewan |
| Pushpin Map: | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Saskatchewan |
| Coords: | 49.8975°N -103.04°W |
| Type: | Reservoir |
| Inflow: | Moose Mountain Creek |
| Outflow: | Moose Mountain Creek |
| Catchment: | Souris River |
| Basin Countries: | Canada |
| Cities: | None |
Moose Mountain Lake[1] is a reservoir in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the RM of Golden West No. 95 in the Prairies Ecozone[2] of Palliser's Triangle at the western edge of Moose Mountain Upland. Moose Mountain Creek is both the primary inflow and outflow of the lake; it enters at the north end and leaves at the dam[3] in the south end. A secondary inflow that comes from Gooseberry Lake enters on the western side near the south end.
The lake runs at a diagonal in a north to east direction and is about seven miles long while less than a mile wide. The total surface area is and the shoreline measures . It was created in 1937 with the damming of Moose Mountain Creek and is situated in the Moose Mountain Creek valley, which was formed during the last ice age.[4]
Near the dam, along the lake, there is a small park with a picnic area and boat launch called Lost Horse Hills Heritage Park. It is named after the nearby Lost Horse Hills. Fishing in the lake is popular and northern pike are a common fish species found in the lake.[5] [6]
At the northern end, where Moose Mountain Creek flows into the lake, is Saint Clair National Wildlife Area, which is one of 28 Prairie National Wildlife Areas in Saskatchewan.[7]
Moose Mountain Dam is an earthen dam built in 1937. It is owned and operated by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA).[8] The building of the dam created the reservoir called Moose Mountain Lake that holds 11535dam3 of water. The reservoir is used for irrigation, flood control, recreation, and as a wildlife and fish habitat. In 2012, the WSA spent more than $1.7 million in upgrades to the dam. Part of the upgrade was to build a fish passageway to allow migrating fish access to the reservoir. On 26 September 2012, the minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, Ken Cheveldayoff said,