Prelude Lake near Yellowknife water level

Name: Prelude Lake near Yellowknife water level (Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada)
Creator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
License: https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

Lake, Prelude Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Surface elevation

169.05m Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 05:30 AM MDT (52 min ago)

History

What this means

The water level at Prelude Lake near Yellowknife reads 169.05 m, about where it usually sits at this time of year.

The median for mid-October is 169.05 m, based on 11 years of readings, so the water level is 0.01 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 169.06 m, a difference of −0.01 m.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 169.04 m – 169.09 m.

Lakes and reservoirs often sit lower in fall after a summer of evaporation and use, and recover with winter rain and spring snowmelt.

Compared with 11 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 169.05 m0.01 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 168.95 m – 169.28 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (11 years of records)
Same day last year: 169.06 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 169.04 m – 169.09 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 169.05 m – 169.10 m

Boating and fishing at Prelude Lake near Yellowknife

A lake in its usual range is what most ramps, docks and swimming areas are built for.

Conditions at the shore change with the level, so check with the agency that runs the lake before a trip.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 2.0 mm.

20 Tue 5° -3° – Wind 16 km/h

21 Wed 8° 1° – Wind 18 km/h

22 Thu 2° -2° – Wind 10 km/h

23 Fri 1° -3° – Wind 8 km/h

24 Sat 0° -3° – Wind 10 km/h

25 Sun 2° -4° – Wind 13 km/h

26 Mon 1° -1° 1.1 mm Wind 13 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:36 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 9 hr, 30 min First quarter 68%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Prosperous Lake near McMeekan BayLake, Prosperous Lake	158.09 m	Low	±0	11 km
Yellowknife River at Inlet to Prosperous LakeRiver gauge, Yellowknife River	152.72 m	Normal	+0.01 m	18 km
Bluefish Lake near YellowknifeLake, Bluefish Lake	185.81 m	Normal	+0.04 m	18 km
Baker Creek at Outlet of Lower Martin LakeRiver gauge, Baker Creek	28.95 m	Low	±0	24 km
Great Slave Lake at Yellowknife BayLake, Great Slave Lake	156.54 m	Normal	+0.04 m	25 km
Duncan Lake near YellowknifeLake, Duncan Lake	212.14 m	Normal	−0.01 m	25 km
Cameron River below Reid LakeRiver gauge, Cameron River	1.85 m	Normal	+0.01 m	25 km
Beaulieu River near Great Slave LakeRiver gauge, Beaulieu River	2.86 m	Normal	±0	71 km

Questions and answers

Is Prelude Lake near Yellowknife higher than last year?

No, it is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 169.06 m.

What is a normal level for Prelude Lake near Yellowknife in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 169.05 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 168.95 m and 169.28 m, based on 11 years of records.

Is Prelude Lake near Yellowknife really 169.05 m deep?

No. 169.05 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Prelude Lake near Yellowknife today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 05:30 AM MDT, the surface elevation was 169.05 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Prelude Lake near Yellowknife rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.01 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Prelude Lake near Yellowknife normal?

Normal for mid-October. Compared with 11 years of daily readings for this time of year.

How often is this data updated?

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada publishes a new reading every hour. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
Station code: eccc:07SB017 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 62.58364, -113.97350 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: GEODETIC SURVEY OF CANADA DATUM (LOCAL 1976 ADJ.)
Update interval: every hour
Licence: Open Government Licence – Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Surface elevation	169.05 m	2026-10-20 11:30	Provisional

Download

Embed this gauge

Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.

<iframe src="https://nivelmap.com/embed/21390?lang=en" width="360" height="230" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Prelude Lake near Yellowknife water level"></iframe>

How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Prelude Lake near Yellowknife (eccc:07SB017). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/northwest-territories/prelude-lake-near-yellowknife

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer