At last we landed at Great Bear Lake. The landing strip, which was built to serve all the camps on the lake, was located about 50 miles from Branson's Lodge. Three of the four small planes owned and operated by the lodge were waiting to shuttle everybody to the lodge. The largest plane, a twin engine, click here, could carry more passengers and gear while the two smaller single engine planes click here and  click here could only carry two or three persons. This made for a very long day. Before we arrive at the lodge, let's learn a little about Great Bear Lake.

     Great Bear Lake is a very large freshwater lake located in the Fort Smith and Inuvik regions of the western Northwest Territories, northwestern Canada, lying astride the Arctic Circle. Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada. Great Bear Lake is the fourth largest of North America and the eighth largest in the world. The lake is 12,300 square miles and has a maximum depth of 1,464 feet charted just off the shore line of Port Radium. The average depth is around 300 feet. The lake, which is ice-bound for eight months of the year, is 190 miles long by 110 miles wide. The lake drains west through the Great Bear River which flows into the Mackenzie River.

     Since the lake never reaches above 52 degrees, the lake remains so clear that you can see over 100 feet to bottom. I was told the temperature on the lake can reach (-70) degrees in the winter.

     Next we will visit Branson's Lodge.

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