Pickle Lake

Pickle Lake was founded as a local transportation centre for mining activities after gold was discovered nearby in 1928. From that time until 1995, more than 2.5 million ounces of gold were produced in the area. Copper was also mined near Pickle Lake in the 1970s. Exploration for gold and copper in the Pickle Lake area continues to this day. Jack Hammell's Pickle Crow Gold Mines (1935–1961) produced 1,446,214 ounces of gold. Alex and Murdoch Mosher's Central Patricia Mine (1927–1951) produced 621,806 ounces. Pickle Lake was incorporated as a township in 1980. It got its name from the shape of the lake which resembles a cucumber or pickle. The township also includes the former townsites of Central Patricia and Pickle Crow. Both formerly independent settlements, Central Patricia now consists only of a few buildings located at the terminus of Highway 599 within the township, while Pickle Crow is a ghost town. After the Pickle Crow gold mine was shut down in 1966, the Ministry of Natural Resources set fire to the site as part of its program to clean up abandoned mines. == Demographics ==

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pickle Lake had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. ==Climate==

Pickle Lake has a humid continental climate that closely borders on a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfb/Dfc). Winters are cold and dry with a January high of and a low of . Snowfall averages with reliable cover from November to April. There are 17.3 nights where the temperature will drop below . Summers are warm and wetter but short with a July high of and a low of . There are 4.8 days where the temperature will exceed . Precipitation tends to be higher during the summer months, with each month from June to August averaging 16 days with measurable precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded in Pickle Lake was on 19 June 1933. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 February 1934. ==Media==

Pickle Lake's only local media service is the new CJTL-FM, which airs a mixed Christian radio and First Nations format. The region is otherwise served through rebroadcasters of services from larger cities such as Thunder Bay, Toronto and Winnipeg. Radio • FM 96.5 – CJTL-FM, Christian radio/First Nations • FM 98.5 – CFDK-FM, (defunct) • FM 105.1 – CBQP-FM, CBC Radio One (relays CBQT-FM, Thunder Bay) ==See also==