Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada

by Allen Casey

This beautifully written natural history is also part memoir. The combination works. “I knew,” he writes, “that Canada’s lake-greatness stemmed not from the sheer size of five titans, but from the great sprawl and density of its three million other lakes.” Sixty per cent of the world’s lakes are found in just one country – Canada. And if you add every bog, swamp, kettle hole, and seasonal prairie slough, there is nothing so uniquely Canadian as a lake. How many of us go to “the lake” on summer weekend? Casey’s “the lake” was Emma Lake north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. And that is where he starts his musings and explorations. Emma is a symbol for what is happening with many inland lakes. Divided and subdivided, it is being spoiled by gargantuan cottages until there is no more room and environmental problems arise. Lake Winnipeg is almost a dead lake. So many acres of farm land and feed lots drain into this lake carrying fertilizers that boost algae growth that takes all the lakes oxygen. Casey describes the degradation of Lake Okanagan in its battle with wineries for water and land for housing.

Definately a must read.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully written natural history is also part memoir. The combination works. “I knew,” he writes, “that Canada’s lake-greatness stemmed not from the sheer size of five titans, but from the great sprawl and density of its three million other lakes.” Sixty per cent of the world’s lakes are found in just one country – Canada. And if you add every bog, swamp, kettle hole, and seasonal prairie slough, there is nothing so uniquely Canadian as a lake. How many of us go to “the lake” on summer weekend? Casey’s “the lake” was Emma Lake north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. And that is where he starts his musings and explorations. Emma is a symbol for what is happening with many inland lakes. Divided and subdivided, it is being spoiled by gargantuan cottages until there is no more room and environmental problems arise. Lake Winnipeg is almost a dead lake. So many acres of farm land and feed lots drain into this lake carrying fertilizers that boost algae growth that takes all the lakes oxygen. Casey describes the degradation of Lake Okanagan in its battle with wineries for water and land for housing.

Definately a must read.

http://bevd.edublogs.org/

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving examination of a Canada's many lakes and their importance to our national identity. Allan deliberately avoids focussing on the Great Lakes, concentrating instead on important lakes, large and small, across Canada. Each chapter features a different lake, its surrounding people, habitat, etc. Beautiful!