Methodology

Where the lakes come from

Official names come from the Canadian Geographical Names Database. Each name is matched to its lake outline in HydroLAKES, a global database of lakes larger than 10 hectares. When a name point falls on an island or the shore, it is matched to the nearest unnamed lake within one kilometre.

What we publish

• Surface area, shoreline length, elevation and watershed area, computed from the outlines.
• Depths and depth contours from government bathymetric surveys, with the survey year.
• Fish species recorded in government surveys, with the number of surveys and the last year each species was seen.
• Stocking records, access points, water clarity and phosphorus where provinces publish them.

What we leave out

HydroLAKES’ modelled mean depth, volume and residence time are not shown: they are statistical estimates that can be far off for an individual lake. We do not reproduce fishing regulations; we link to the official text.

Detailed pages

A lake page is offered to search engines only when it has enough verified data: a depth survey, a fish inventory with at least five species, an official depth map, or a water-quality series. Other lakes stay available but are not indexed.

Caution

Maps and depths are not for navigation. Surveys can be decades old. Check regulations and local conditions before you go.