Great Bear Lake Great Bear Lake is the largest freshwater lake
that lies wholly in Canada. It is situated on the edge of the
Canadian Shield, is transected by the Arctic Circle, and is
bordered to the south by boreal forest and to the north by
tundra. Water from Great Bear Lake drains into Canada's longest
river, the Mackenzie. The northern shores of this lake have been
inhabited for at least 6000 years by peoples whose livelihoods
depended on the caribou. Great Bear Lake was formed and modified
by the advances and retreats of the Pleistocene glaciers.
Similar in shape to a piece from a jigsaw puzzle, the lake,
which remains covered in ice from late November to late July,
has five large arms. Great Bear Lake has been little impacted by
development. In fact, scientists use it as a model of a young
pristine lake. Its deep, clear, cold waters have very low
productivity because nutrient levels are low. The main
inhabitants of the lake are the four-horned sculpin, and various
amphipods and copepods. Sport fisherme