Lake Gåje D. Settem

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Lake Gåje D. Settem
Gåje D. Settemssø — Sø 30.12.16
Big Creek Lake - Reflection (5558963133).jpg
Grønnejakkerdal in the west of Lake Settem
Location Ehoway
TypeReservoir
Primary inflowsStorebjørneflod
Primary outflowsSettemsflod
Basin countriesEhoway
Surface area10,742 km2 (4148 sq mi)
Average depth18.9 metres (62 ft)
Max. depth102 metres (335 ft)

Lake Gåje D. Settem (Tuskish: Gåje D. Settemssø), also known as Lake 30.12.16 prior to 2002 and more commonly known as Lake Settem, is a freshwater reservoir in Ehoway and the worlds largest manmade body of water formed by the construction of Hjørdismor in 1936 to dam the Storebjørneflod. Located in western Ehoway, Lake Settem and the construction of Hjørdismor was originally planned to create thousands of jobs and develop the previously sparsely habited region in western Ehoway. When opened in 1936, Hjørdismor was the largest dam in the world and when completed Lake Settem took approximately 13 months to fill to capacity.

During Lake Settem's filling hundreds of native Newfoundlanders were evicted and forcefully relocated to reserves and their settlements were either razed to the ground or simply flooded, at least 8 native villages and towns were flooded and previously created native reserves were abolished to fill the lake. Since Lake Settem's flooding many reserves were granted land on islands created by hilltops in the lake as compensation for the evictions. Owing to its location away from the traditional centres of power and in a bid to further boost development in the area, the planned capital of Akavik was built between 1981 and 1985 and is the largest urban area on Lake Settem's coastline. Since the establishment of Akavik the lake has become a popular site for tourism, fishing and nature enthusiasts owing to its remote location.

Contamination of Lake Settem has become a national concern in Ehoway particularly after the Eruption of Mount Forsyn which caused tonnes of debris and ash to enter the lake, increased pollution on the lake's shoreline has been observed year on year since 1975 and an algae bloom in 2003 caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of fish and devastated much of central Lake Settem's ecosystem.

Name

President Gåje Settem, after whom the lake was renamed in 2002

History

Construction

Abandonment

Establishment of Akavik

Geography

Economy

Native land

Conservation

Eruption of Mount Forsyn

2003 Algae bloom