WOLLASTON, LAKE

lake, northeastern Saskatchewan. It lies in the southern part of the Barren Grounds (a subarctic prairie region of northern Canada), 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Reindeer Lake. It is 70 miles (113 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide, has an area of 1,035 square miles (2,681 square km), and drains through two outlets: one northwestward through Fond du Lac River to Lake Athabasca and the Mackenzie River system, the other northeastward via Caochraine River to Reindeer Lake and the Churchill River system. Used as a link between the two river systems after it was discovered by Peter Fidler about 1800, Lake Wollaston was named (1821) by the explorer Sir John Franklin for William Hyde Wollaston, the English scientist. The lake is noted for its fishing.