| Wawota | |
| Official Name: | Town of Wawota |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Wawota |
| Coordinates: | 49.9067°N -102.0261°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Saskatchewan |
| Subdivision Type2: | Census division |
| Subdivision Name2: | 1 |
| Subdivision Type3: | Rural Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Wawken |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Kevin Kay |
| Leader Title2: | Governing body |
| Leader Name2: | Wawota Town Council |
| Leader Title3: | MP |
| Leader Name3: | Robert Kitchen Souris-Moose Mountain |
| Leader Title4: | MLA |
| Leader Name4: | Daryl HarrisonCannington |
| Established Title: | Post office founded |
| Established Date: | 1884-09-01 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated (village) |
| Area Total Km2: | 1.24 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 543 |
| Population Density Km2: | 437.9 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | National Population Rank |
| Timezone: | CST |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | S0G 5A0 |
| Area Code: | 306 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | Highway 48 Highway 603 |
| Blank1 Name: | Website |
| Footnotes: | [2] [3] |
Wawota is a town of 543 people along Highway 48[4] in the southeast part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Established in 1905, its name is from Dakota "wa ota", which means "much snow". Wa means 'snow', oda or ota means 'much'. It is sometimes mistakenly said to mean 'deep snow'.
The town's motto, "Progress Through Perseverance", is fitting, as Wawota has made a concerted effort in the last few decades to remain a vibrant community for people of all ages, despite the ongoing challenges faced by nearly all rural towns in the province. The loss of the local railway, the so-called Peanut Line, in August, 1961 is often cited as a galvanizing moment for the community, and the dawn of the town's progressive spirit.
Regionally, Wawota is perhaps best known for its long history of successful sports teams, most notably in hockey and baseball, as well as its unusual collection of fire hydrants, painted to resemble various people and cartoon characters. Wawota is also noteworthy as the 'twin capital', due to the large number of twin births recorded in the community, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wawota had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 1.28km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[5]
Sports facilities include Lyle's Ball Park for baseball, Wawota Forum for hockey, Wawota Curling Rink, and a soccer pitch. The Wawota Flyers senior men's hockey team of the Big 6 Hockey League plays at the Forum and the Wawota Pats senior men's baseball team of the Saskota Baseball League plays at Lyle's Ball Park.[6]