Канададағы тұзды көл: Ескі әйелдер көлінің тарихы мен маңызы

Salt lake in Saskatchewan, Canada

Old Wives Lake is a shallow endorheic salt lake in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about south west of Moose Jaw. The lake is fed by the Wood River but seasonal water relatively flattened the terrain, and as such results in significant mudflats. A Migratory Bird Sanctuary was established at the lake on March 9, 1925. This lake, in conjunction with Reed Lake and Chaplin Lake, forms a site of hemispheric importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It was designated in April 1997, and is "one of the most important inland sites for migratory birds in North America". A variety of First Nations oral traditions explain the origin of the lake's name. At various times during the lake's human history, it has attracted interest from several First Nations tribes, duck hunters, military trainers, sodium sulfate producers, conservationists, and birdwatchers. Nearby communities include Old Wives and Mossbank. Access to the lake is from Highway 363. The Old Wives Lake is a popular destination for birdwatchers; a walking trail has been constructed along the lake's south shore, along with viewing and picnic areas.

According to a Cree tradition A variant telling of this narrative states that the Blackfoot warriors were so impressed by the women's courage that they left them alone and allowed them to rejoin their own people. Another First Nations oral tradition describes how a band of Assiniboine fleeing from pursuing Blackfoot warriors abandoned the old women in their band who could not keep pace with everyone else. The women continued their effort to escape by wading across the lake. However, they misjudged the water's depth and drowned. According to some First Nations traditions, the spirits of the dead women continue to haunt a small island in the lake from which their voices can be heard at night. Some early accounts describing the region state that the name "Old Wives Lake" was originally applied to both the lake that currently bears that name and to nearby Chaplin Lake. In 1861, the British politicians Sir Frederick Johnstone and Henry Chaplin visited the area to hunt bison, antelope, and elk for sport. Explorer John Rae, who accompanied the expedition, named area lakes in honour of its members: The lake now called Old Wives Lake became Johnstone Lake and Chaplin Lake received the name by which it is still known. Although the Canadian government officially adopted the designation "Johnstone Lake" in 1886; With the arrival of European settlers, ranchers and homesteaders occupied the area surrounding the lake. During World War II a bombing and gunnery air training school established under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan operated near the lake's shoreline, three miles east of Mossbank. Throughout the war, part of the lake and its surroundings were incorporated into a 23 mile bombing range used by trainee pilots. For some decades in the 20th century, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, sodium sulfate was harvested from the lake by diverting water into nearby Frederick Lake for evaporation. The sodium sulfate plant operated until 1977. In 1975, two Canadian Forces military training aircraft were involved in a mid air collision over the lake which caused one of the aircraft to crash into it. The two pilots in this aircraft were able to parachute out and inflate emergency rubber dinghies enabling them to remain afloat until their rescue by a helicopter based out of CFB Moose Jaw. Drought conditions caused the lake to dry up completely in 1937 and 1988. In certain years, including 1951, 1959, 1980 and 1997, large numbers of ducks were found dead at the lake due to outbreaks of botulism.

The Old Wives Frederick Lakes (SK 031) Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada is a protected area for birds that encompasses Old Wives and Frederick Lakes. The total area covered by the IBA is Frederick Lake is a shallow basin adjacent to the south western shore of Old Wives Lake. The site is home to numerous different bird species, including the endangered piping plover. The most commonly found birds include sanderlings and Baird's sandpipers. Other species include American white pelicans, Semipalmated sandpipers, stilt sandpipers, American avocets, double crested cormorants, Franklin's gulls, ring billed gulls, California gulls, common terns, mallards, and canvasbacks.