Wollaston Lake

Wollaston Lake is an unincorporated community and lake in northeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is 550 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of Prince Albert. With a surface area of 2286 km² (excluding islands; 2681 km² if islands are included), it is the largest bifurcation lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions.

The Fond du Lac River flows out of the lake to the northwest, where it drains into Lake Athabasca, which ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean via the Mackenzie River system. The Cochrane River flows out of the northeastern side of the lake and into Reindeer Lake, which drains via the Churchill River system into Hudson Bay. If Hudson Bay is defined to be part of the Atlantic Ocean, and if the Arctic Ocean is not defined to be part of the Atlantic, then Wollaston Lake drains into two oceans.

Wollaston Lake's main inflow is the Geikie River which flows from the southwest into the southwest section of the lake. If the aforementioned oceanic definitions are used, then the Geikie is the largest river in the world to flow naturally into two oceans.

Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan

Wollaston Lake is a village on Wollaston Lake in the boreal forest of northeastern Saskatchewan, Canada.

The population centre comprises the northern settlement of Wollaston Lake, an unincorporated community in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, and the adjoining First Nations community of Wollaston Post, the administrative headquarters of the Hatchet Lake Dene First Nation band government.

Access is provided by Wollaston Lake Airport and Highway 905. The highway is on the west side of the lake and the community is on the east side. Access from the highway is provided by an ice road in the winter (November to June) and by the Wollaston Barge Ferry in the summer.

Demographics

The population of Wollaston Lake (the northern settlement) was 129 in 2012 and the population of Wollaston Post (Lac La Hache 220, IR, Saskatchewan) was 1,251 in 2011. Together they form a community of 1,380 residents.

Wollaston Post statistics

Hatchet Lake Dene Nation

Wollaston Post is the administrative centre of the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation. The First Nations band government had a total registered membership of 1,760 in January 2015 with 1,369 members residing on-reserve and 391 members residing at locations off-reserve. Under a Custom Electoral System members choose one Chief and six councillors. Hatchet Lake is affiliated with the Prince Albert Grand Council.