A huge, shallow remnant of a giant Ice Age lake on the Canadian prairies.
Surface area
24,514 km²
Maximum depth
about 36 m
Elevation
217 m
Continent
North America
Countries
Canada
Did you know?
Lake Winnipeg is one of the largest lakes in the world yet remarkably shallow, averaging only about 12 m deep.
Little-known fact
It is the leftover of glacial Lake Agassiz, which was once larger than all today's Great Lakes put together.
Highlights
- A vast prairie lake
- Surprisingly shallow
- Remnant of giant Lake Agassiz
Life in the Lake Winnipeg
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Northern pike
A long, torpedo-shaped ambush predator that lurks among weeds across the cool rivers and lakes of the north.
North American beaver
Nature’s engineer: its dams create wetlands that reshape whole river valleys.
Waterbirds
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Interactive · 3D dive
How deep does a lake go?
A lake is layered from the sunlit, weed-filled shallows down to a cold, dark bed. Tap a zone to dive the submersible through the water column — and meet the life that belongs at each depth.
Tip: hover the column to tilt it · tap a layer to dive
Littoral Zone
The warm, bright band close to shore where sunlight reaches the bottom. Reeds, water lilies and rooted plants grow thickly here, making it the busiest, most crowded part of the whole lake.
Who lives here