Great Bear Lake

Great Bear Lake, large freshwater lake in the Fort Smith and Inuvik regions of the western Northwest Territories, north-western Canada, lying astride the Arctic Circle. Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada and the eighth largest lake in the world. It covers 31,153 sq km (12,028 sq mi) and has a maximum depth of about 410 m (1,345 ft). Great Bear Lake is irregular in shape and has several long bays, notably the McTavish, McVicar, Keith, and Smith arms. The eastern shore cuts into the rocky edge of the Canadian Shield. The lake is extremely cold; ice prevents shipping for all but four months of the year. Few fish inhabit Great Bear, but its wooded shores abound with wildlife, including the animal after which it is named. The lake is drained, in the south-west, by the Great Bear River, which flows into the Mackenzie River. The main settlements on the lake are Fort Franklin, a Native American fishing village near the Great Bear River, and Echo Bay (formerly Port Radium), on the eastern lakeshore. The discovery in 1930 of pitchblende on the eastern shore led to extensive mining operations, which continued until the ore was depleted in the 1960s.