GeoMemorial Commemorative Naming Program
Thousands of lakes, islands, bays and other geographical features across the province have been named in honour of those who lost their lives in the service of Saskatchewan and Canada through the GeoMemorial Commemorative Naming Program.
The program is most well known for naming Saskatchewan features after fallen veterans, but it is also used to name locations after other prominent Saskatchewanians, or those with historical or cultural connections to a location.
Places named through the program
The lakes named through the program are the most well known including popular names like Piprell Lake, Townsend Lake, and Sealey Lake. The program has also been used to name other features including bays, islands, rapids, rivers, creeks, channels, inlets and schools. The vast majority of these are located in remote areas of central and northern Saskatchewan. There are a small number that are accessible by road/trail or even located in a city while the majority require a plane to access.
| Type of Feature | Count |
| Lake | 2,450 |
| Island | 307 |
| Bay | 251 |
| River | 128 |
| Cape | 67 |
| Rapid | 55 |
| Waterfall | 23 |
| Channel | 22 |
Most recent lakes in the program
The program is still active and new names are still being assigned.
Some of the most recently named lakes in the program include Gordan Lake named after Lawrence Samuel Gordan in 2016, Dreveny Lake named after Pavel Dreveny in 2016 and Goddard Lake named after Nichola Kathleen Sarah Goddard in 2015.
About
The program is administered by the Government of Saskatchewan through the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.
Doug Chisholm
Doug Chisholm has installed plaques at many of these remote lakes on behalf of the families of those being commemorated. He's also helped facilitate family to visit many of these lakes that are very difficult to get to.
History of the program
The GeoMemorial Commemorative Naming Program has been honouring service members and other prominent Saskatchewanians since 1947 shortly after the end of the 2nd World War.
Search for places named as part of the GeoMemorial Commemorative Naming Program.
You can search by both the name of the place (Atchison Island) or by the name of the person the place was named after (Colin Bird).
Once you've updated the search, hit "View Interactive Map" to see the places on a map of the province.
References
Information for this article comes from a variety of sources including: