Lake · Canada
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake lies in Canada's Northwest Territories and is the deepest lake in all of North America. For about eight months of the year, at least part of it is frozen.
Picture credit: Paul Gierszewski (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Great Slave Lake?
Countries on its shores: Canada.
Middle of the lake: 61.50° N, 114.00° W
The story behind it
Great Slave Lake is so deep that its bottom lies 614 metres below the surface, deeper than any other lake in North America. Its name comes from the Slavey people who live in the region. Many rivers pour into it, such as the Slave River and the Hay River, and the Mackenzie River carries its water away towards the Arctic Ocean. On its shore lies Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, which grew up after gold was found there in the 1930s. In winter, when the lake is frozen, a road about 6.5 kilometres long runs across the ice from Yellowknife to Dettah, a small fishing village. Lake trout, whitefish, northern pike and walleye swim in the cold water. Some people even live on houseboats on the lake, and a television series has shown their lives.
Find it on the globe
Great Slave Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Great Slave Lake?
Great Slave Lake covers about 27 200 km², which makes it the tenth-largest lake in the world. It is about 469 kilometres long.
Where does the name Great Slave Lake come from?
The name comes from the Slavey people, whom the Cree called by a word meaning 'slaves'. French explorers named it Grand lac des Esclaves, and English speakers translated this as Great Slave Lake.
Can you drive across Great Slave Lake?
Yes, in winter a road about 6.5 kilometres long runs across the frozen lake. It links Yellowknife with the small fishing village of Dettah.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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