An element which carved much of the land Manitoba is today was shrouded in mystery due to scientific jargon.
 
Bill Redekop, Writer-Reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, wanted to unravel the mystery of the ‘Ice Age’ behemoth, creating his book Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Fall of The World's Greatest Lake.
 
Formed during the last glaciation period 12,800 years ago, Lake Agassiz was created from the melting glacial ice which covered most of Canada.
 
Field and Collections Manager at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre Victoria Markstrom, explains the formation of these ancient lakes.
 
"It shaped a lot of Manitoba, and other provinces across Canada. It had a huge impact on how Manitoba looks today. It was also the last time Manitoba was underwater."
 
Redekop looked for the remnants of this lake traveling around the province's ancient beaches left from ages past.
 
Along the escarpment, beaches were formed parallel to this with the most prominent being Campbell Beach. Redekop says he was able to follow it from the international border to Swan River, adding it continues into Saskatchewan.
 
The ebb and flow of Lake Agassiz helped form the foundation of the lakes we have today, explains Markstrom. The basin created by Agassiz allowed Lakes Manitoba, Winnipeg, and Winnipegosis to form.
 
Curiosity was the driving factor behind the book for Redekop., the desire to piece together the mystery of Agassiz.
 
Redekop explains one the revelations he had was the lake would not have been just a barren waterway, because along the southern shores there would have been a reawakening of life, plants, animals, and megafauna retaking the land as the glacial ice receded.
 
For those who read the book, Redekop hopes to help inform them about the history of the province.
 
"I want to inform people's experience. I also want to give them a framework to understand our geology, not to overburden them with too much information, a framework so when they read something else, or some discovery of the ers is made, or a new interpretation of the landscape, they have something it can stick to."
 
Making the book possible was the help of many people educated in the field of geology, and the history of the region.