The Great Slave Lake has defrosted, finally.
When I’m in the north, I live near this lake. It’s the tenth largest in the world, the deepest in North America, and has a huge impact on the weather. To some extent, it moderates, but it also causes the heavy, wet lake effect snow, too.
We had quite a warm day yesterday, but when I went walking on the lake trail, the breeze coming from it was decidedly cool. It hasn’t warmed up much yet!
The name “Slave” has nothing to do with slaves or slavery but comes from an Indigenous word, “Slavey,” and is Dene in origin. The Slavey people are distinct from the Dene, but their histories have intersected frequently.
Here is another photo of the same lake, from a similar vantage point, taken in December, 2019. I think it was about -40C.
Greetings from Great Slave Lake.
Have a good week. 🙂
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 
Good morning Lynette! It was surprising to see the same lake in two different (and opposite) seasons, how different eheh have a great week and greetings from Portugal, PedroL
Greetings to you as well! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
You’re welcome Lynette 🙂 have a great day, PedroL
You too. 🙂
Beautiful photos, Lynette. Have a great week!
Thanks, Jill. You too.
The contrast is wonderful 🙂
It is – when I think of how cold it was when I took the second photo, and worried about how the cold might affect the lens; yes, the difference is amazing.
Love the contrast, Lynette. That’s some body of water you have on your doorstep! Way too cold for me. Is the dark object, centre left, a boat? And the row of ‘humps’ house rooves?
Thank you, Stuart. Yes, it is very big, and so deep (614 metres) that often only the surface is affected by wind. There is a totally different ecosystem in the lower depths, apparently.
The dark object is an island – there was some fog around it when I took the photo – and the row of humps are large stones that have been placed there for people to sit on in the summer.
Summer sounds inviting, Lynette. Don’t think I’d be sitting there in the snow, though! Makes me shiver just looking at it. Definitely one to be enjoyed from the comfort of a chair in a warm room, for me!
No! Definitely not in the snow. The day I took this was very, very cold. The sun had just come up (it was 10:30 a.m.), and it was extremely still. My eyelashes frosted up as I took photos and worried that my lens might freeze!
Always a danger in extreme cold. Digital cameras seem to be more susceptible than the old mechanical models I was raised on. Have to keep them sheltered.
The 10th largest lake in the world. That’s a powerful body of water. Hi. Enjoy the week.
It likes to show off, too. 😉 Enjoy your week, too.
I enjoyed walking by this lake the times I was up in Yellowknife (twice at summer solstice, so the timing is meaningful for me). Not only was the breeze cold both times, but there was also a fine line between black fly and mosquito season. Still, in all a great place to visit. Thanks for sharing Lynette. Allan
Oh yes, the bugs. We just hit bug season on Friday (yes – pretty late this year, but that was the good part about a late spring). At least it’s also rather breezy right now, and that keeps the hot and cold running mosquitoes at bay!
Even in July the breeze from GSL can be chilly. It’s 614 metres deep, so only the surface develops any kind of warmth, and it can quickly freeze to about 60 cm (safe for an ice road).
Thanks for commenting.
Beautiful–I’m really enjoying your pictures on Monday mornings–helps ease the stress:)
I’m glad to hear that! 🙂 Anything that helps to lower the stress is a good thing. I know how you feel.
Interesting background, Lynette. I didn’t know it was so large!
Thanks, Jacqui. I didn’t know either until I started working here. It’s pretty big!
So blue moments in your photos! Have a wonderful week. We are celebrating midsummer this week in Finland. I has been warm nearly one week and it is getting even warmer for the midsummer festival. For Finns 27 degrees celsius is nearly too hot 🙂
Yes, the winter sky is very intense.
Hahaha. 🙂 Yes, 27C is almost too hot here, too. You have a wonderful week as well – enjoy your festival! 🙂
Thank you Lynette!
That winter photo is stunning!
Thank you very much. 🙂 It was very cold that day, and that makes for great photos.
Beautiful blues.
The blues are very intense, especially in the winter.
Wonderful. 😊
The deepest in North America? Wow! I had no idea. Thanks for the information on the name, too.
Since you used to live in Arizona, you probably know of the Diné? (What the Navajo call themselves.) It translates “the people”, and I believe that’s true for Dene as well.
Interesting, don’t you think? 🙂
You’re welcome. I knew of the Diné. Yes, Dene also means “the people.” There are many variations on this descriptor. Here’s what I found on Wikipedia: “The Navajo people (Diné) of the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States are said to be descended from the Nahani, who lived where the Nahanni National Park Reserve is, and also the Slavey of Northern Canada.[11]”
I was chatting with a Cree friend today who said that (prior to colonialism) the Slavey were sometimes taken as slaves by the Cree because they were apparently very non-confrontational. When the French came along, they referred to the captured ones as “esclave” or enslaved ones. The French word was then used to name places in Dene territory where the Slavey resided. So I have to change my post! Slavery IS a part of the history.
Goodness!
Interesting and deeply troubling at the same time. Confronting our past is never easy, but so necessary. Especially now, when real change is possible.
Yes – definitely. The past can be very, very difficult.