Lake Winnipeg

The Lake Winnipeg (English Lake Winnipeg ), with over 24,400 km ² the largest lake in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

It is the third largest lake entirely located in Canada and one of the 15 largest in the world. Drained the "sea of Manitoba " by the Nelson River, which flows from its north end into Hudson Bay.

History

The land around the Lake Winnipeg has been inhabited for thousands of years. Its name derives from the Cree word wīnipēk ( ᐐᓂᐯᐠ ), meaning " muddy water ", from. The first Europeans who visited the lake, was probably the Englishman Henry Kelsey, who was in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company and toured the region from 1690 to 1692.

Nature

The 428 km long Lake Winnipeg is located in the plains of the Canadian Shield right smack in the middle of Canada. Although the lake is located in the temperate zone, he experienced through the unhindered invasion of cold air from the Canadian Arctic harsh winter. The area around the lake is particularly on the west shore, partially wooded; in the south, close to the huge grain fields of the prairie. He is, like its neighbors, the Manitoba and the Winnipegosissee, from the giant prehistoric Lake Agassiz emerged, which once stretched across much of the middle of North America. This was created at the end of the last ice age when the melting of the glaciers. About three thousand years after it would have reached its greatest extent, the Agassiz again lost most of its water, leaving a number of small lakes back, of which the Lake Winnipeg with 24,420 km ² is the largest.

It is noteworthy that the 216 -meter distance above sea Winnipeg has a little for a lake of its size depth. In the lake there are numerous islands, among which are ( to the north of South) Hecla, Black, Berens and Reindeer the greatest. The most important tributaries of Lake Winnipeg are the Red River of the North Saskatchewan River (via the Cedar Lake ), the Winnipeg River and the Dauphin River. Overall, the lake has a catchment area of ​​984,200 km ².

Hydropower plant Jenpeg

At the outlet of the lake is the Jenpeg hydroelectric power plant ( ⊙ 54.541666666667-98.025218 ). The " Jenpeg Generating Station " was built from 1972-1979 and operated by Manitoba Hydro. The hydropower plant receives water from the Lake Winnipeg via the 2 Mile Channel, the 8 Mile Channel and the Channel Ominawin. The Lake Winnipeg is also dammed by 4 to 12,5 m and its outflow regulated. The altitude is held in winter at 214-215 m above sea level, in the summer to 218 m asl. In summer, more water flows than in the winter, but the power consumption is inversely related.

The hydropower plant has six turbines that make each of 16 MW, 97 MW together; another source specifies the total power with 132 MW. The turbines produce an annual energy of 0.9 TWh. The turbines were (now part of the company RusHydro ) supplied by the Russian company Hydro Project. The hydraulic drop height varies from 4 to 12.5 m, and most effective at 7.32 m electricity can be generated. The shut-off, an earth and rockfill dam, is on the river bed 24 m high and over 39 m its inception. It is 626 m long and consists of a volume of 573,000 cubic meters. To damming the lake, was long as a by- building nor the 600 m and 15 m high Kiskitto Dam needed.

From the water plant, the water over the Nelson River flows from the Hudson Bay. The spillway can discharge a water volume of 4361 m³ / s. The sea area is approximately 25,000 km ² ( 24,420 or 25,413 km ²). The dynamic content is specified in the relevant sources with 31,790 million cubic meters.