Gaspereau Lake

Gaspereau Lake

View from north shore
Location Kings County, Nova Scotia
Coordinates 44°59′N 64°32′W / 44.983°N 64.533°WCoordinates: 44°59′N 64°32′W / 44.983°N 64.533°W
Primary outflows Gaspereau River
Basin countries Canada
Max. length 12 km
Max. width 7 km
Surface area 22 km²
Shore length1 55 km
Surface elevation 185 m
Frozen 3 months
Islands 50
Settlements Welton Landing, Nova Scotia
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Gaspereau Lake is a lake in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, about 10 km south of the town of Kentville, Nova Scotia on the South Mountain. It is the largest lake in Kings County, and the fifth largest lake in Nova Scotia. [1] The lake is shallow with dozens of forested islands and hundreds of rocky islets (skerries).

The water level of the lake is controlled by Nova Scotia Power. At the natural outlet to the Gaspereau River, in the north-east corner of the lake, there is a control dam and fish ladder. Another control dam at the south-east corner of the lake controls outflow to a canal which diverts water to Hydroelectricity stations on the lower sections of the Gaspereau River system. [2]

In late spring the namesake fish, gaspereau(Alewife) migrate from the ocean up the Gaspereau River, and spawn in the shallow waters of Gaspereau Lake.

References

  1. Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History: Freshwater Environments (PDF) p 160
  2. History of the Gaspereau Watershed (from Kings County Lake Monitoring Program) at the Wayback Machine (archived October 7, 2006)

External links