What is the largest lake entirely in Canada?

What is the largest lake entirely in Canada? Great Bear Lake is the largest lake located wholly within Canada.

Great Bear Lake is in Canada’s Northwest Territories, close to the Arctic Circle. It covers about 31,000 square kilometres, making it the largest lake in Canada that does not cross an international border. It is also the fourth-largest lake in North America and one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes by surface area.

The lake is divided into several large arms, including Smith, Dease, McTavish, McVicar, and Keith arms. Its water drains through the Great Bear River into the Mackenzie River system. Ice usually covers the lake from late November into July, reflecting its high-latitude climate.

The important distinction is the word “entirely.” Lake Superior and Lake Huron are both larger, but they straddle the Canada–United States border. Great Slave Lake is also in the Northwest Territories and is enormous, yet its surface area is smaller. The name Great Bear comes from a Chipewyan term associated with “bear-large” and the Sahtu Dene people.