Great Bear Lake, Freshwater lake in Northwest Territories, Canada.
Great Bear Lake is a freshwater body in the Northwest Territories near the Arctic Circle. Its surface extends across a width of about 175 kilometers and a length of around 320 kilometers.
Indigenous communities relied on this body of water for survival long before European fur traders arrived in the 18th century. Later, uranium mining along the eastern shore in the 1930s brought new settlements to the region.
The Sahtu Dene call this body of water Sahtú and have lived along its shores for many generations. Their fishers know the migration patterns of trout and char and share this knowledge within the community.
Small planes fly to the settlement of Deline on the western shore, where a few lodges accommodate travelers. In winter, ice roads open and allow vehicle access across the frozen surface.
More than two dozen islands lie scattered across the water and form nesting grounds for waterfowl and retreats for bears. Some of these islands still carry traces of old campsites and hunting stations from earlier centuries.
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