Pelican Lake Manitoba 

Pelican Lake is the largest navigable water body in western Manitoba. It is in southwest Manitoba, the town of Ninette is on the north shore and is in the municipalities of Prairie Lakes and Turtle Mountain. Pelican Lake is part of the Pembina River drainage basin. Although the river doesn't flow through the lake, the lake has always drained into the river when it gets high.

Pelican Lake was first noted on a Hind map in 1858. The name is a translation of the original Native name Sheta Sagagin meaning Pelican Lake. Bone Lake together with Overend, Pelican, Lorne, Louise, Rock and Swan form a curved chain along the Pembina called Lac des Placottes by early French traders. These "flat ribs"  were thought to resemble the curved spinous processes of a bison’s shoulder vertebrae which supported the hump. Only Bone Lake retains the essence of the early name.

Pelican is about 11 miles long and a mile wide with a surface area of about 10.6 square miles. It has an average depth of 3.9 meters (11.3 feet) when the lake is at 412.0 meters (1351.7 feet), the summer target level. The deepest point is at elevation 406.8 meters or about 5.2 meters deep at the normal summer target level of 412 meters. At 412 the lake holds about 108 billion liters of water. It has a drainage area of about 265 square miles.

The lake is fed by several small waterways that mostly come in at the north end. The main creek is the Orthez Drain with headwaters about 8 kilometers north of Boissevain at about elevation of 500 meters (1640 feet). See the documents page for a map showing the waterways.

To some extent the the level is regulated by works at the south end of the lake. When the lake is too high water can be released through the outlet works and if too low water can be diverted from the Pembina River.

The valley containing the lake is over 60 meters (200 feet) deep. It was formed when melt waters from glacial Lake Souris cut into shale bedrock as it spilled eastward into Lake Agassiz. Over time tributary streams flowing into the valley have deposited sediments over the valley floor forming natural dams. These dams caused the creation of the series of shallow lakes we see today; Pelican, Lorne, Louise, Rock and Swan Lakes.

People who settled the area soon appreciated its recreational potential. By 1906 a 60 foot double decker steamer and two 40 foot boats were ferrying people to the various beaches around the lake. The steep sided valley walls made other access difficult. Tourists came by rail on day trips from Brandon and Winnipeg. Soon a hotel was built in Ninette as well as cottages nearby. The YMCA operated a summer camp from 1905 to 1950 at Y Point which is now Strathcona Park. The Pentecostal Church bought Manhattan Beach in 1939 and has operated a camp there ever since. The Pelican Lake Yacht Club was started in 1965 and has a well protected marina in Ninette. Today there are homes and cottages on just about every piece of suitable ground around the lake.

The level of Pelican Lake has varied considerably over the past century. During the first decade of the 20th century levels were high but dropped  resulting in the first attempt to regulate the lake in 1919.  The Dominion Department of Public Works constructed a timber weir on the Pembina River and a diversion channel to carry water to the lake. The weir soon failed so in 1926 another was built but it too soon failed. In the 1950's levels were low again. In the 1960's the levels were high causing erosion and flooding. Interest in lake regulation continued to grow and in 1972 the Pelican Lake Advisory Committee was established. It recommended that the lake be regulated between 1350.2 and 1351.7 feet. Extremely low levels in the 1980's generated new interest in regulation of the lake. The lake eventually dropped to 1346.0 feet (410.26 meters) in October 1991. In 1991 with cost sharing from the Federal Government the Province started construction of the Pelican Enhancement Project.

The scheme includes works to divert water from the Pembina River and an improved outlet channel to release water from the lake. In the first few years the project was successful in raising the lake a few feet but its real value came in the very wet years from  1995 to 2023 when the volume of water equivalent to over  55 feet on the lake  was released through the outlet channel. Although the lake got very high during those years it would have been disastrous without the outlet works. The highest recorded level was 1354.2 feet (412.76 m) on July 11, 2005 just an inch higher than the 1976 and 2017 peaks.

 This site is intended to provide a variety of information on levels and other water related topics regarding the lake.