Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg, lake in southern Manitoba, Canada, near the city of Winnipeg. A remnant of Lake Agassiz, a prehistoric glacial lake, Lake Winnipeg is 428 km (266 mi) long and has an area of 24,390 sq km (9,417 sq mi). The shallow lake is fed by several rivers, including the Red, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, and it is drained by the Nelson River, which flows to Hudson Bay. Among the large islands in the lake are Reindeer and Hecla islands. The western lakeshore is well forested, and the southern shore is a popular summer resort area. The name Winnipeg is Cree for “murky waters,” and may have been given by English explorer Henry Kelsey when he visited the area in 1690. The lake was reached in 1733 by the French Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye.