Gaspereau Lake

Gaspereau Lake
View from north shore
Gaspereau Lake is located in Nova Scotia
Gaspereau Lake
Gaspereau Lake
LocationKings County, Nova Scotia
Coordinates44°59′N 64°32′W / 44.983°N 64.533°W / 44.983; -64.533
Primary outflowsGaspereau River
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length12 km (7.5 mi)
Max. width7 km (4.3 mi)
Surface area22 km2 (8.5 sq mi)
Shore length155 km (34 mi)
Surface elevation185 m (607 ft)
Frozen3 months
Islands50
SettlementsWelton 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.

  1. ^ Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History: Freshwater Environments (PDF) p 160
  2. ^ "History of the Gaspereau Watershed (from Kings County Lake Monitoring Program)". Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)