Old Wives Lake (Assiniboine: Wagą́ganati wakpá ) is a shallow saline lake in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 30 km southwest 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.
A town of the same name (Old Wives) is located north of the lake on Highway 363.
Famous quotes containing the words wives and/or lake:
“That’s right, son. That’s why I keep my hat on, so my horns don’t show. Why I’ve got more wives than Solomon hisself. At least that’s what folks around here say. And if they don’t say it, they, they think it.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“They who know of no purer sources of truth, who have traced up its stream no higher, stand, and wisely stand, by the Bible and the Constitution, and drink at it there with reverence and humility; but they who behold where it comes trickling into this lake or that pool, gird up their loins once more, and continue their pilgrimage toward its fountain-head.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)