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Meech Lake | |
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View from O'Brien Beach at the south-east end of the lake in early spring | |
Location | Chelsea, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality, Quebec |
Coordinates | 45°32′06″N75°53′21″W / 45.53500°N 75.88917°W |
Basin countries | Canada |
Meech Lake (French : Lac Meech) is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. It is located about 20 km northwest of Gatineau. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area.
Near the lake, on Meech Creek, are the ruins of a fertilizer plant built by Thomas "Carbide" Willson during the 1900s. In 1981, Willson's former summer home (the Willson House) on Meech Lake was converted into a government conference centre. The house is notable for its use, in 1987, as the site of meetings on the Meech Lake Accord (which proposed the overhauling of Canada's constitution) between the provincial premiers and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
The lake is a multi-use area with picnicking, beach goers, boats, paddle boards, and historic cottages dating to before the park was formed. It is a popular lake for people who like to train in open water swimming. It is also the site of the annual Meech Lake Triathlon.
In 1988, a study conducted for the NCC confirmed that Meech Lake residents are responsible for most of the human-produced phosphorus flowing into the lake, i.e., 70.2%, whereas visitors only account for 29.8%. [1] Phosphorus, in excessive amounts is responsible for the proliferation of blue-green algae, [2] a problem that has afflicted the lake in recent years. [3]
The National Capital Commission (NCC), steward of Gatineau Park, operates beaches on the lake during the summer. Although it is not condoned by the NCC, there is a secluded beach often used by naturists. Lack of clear signage on the lake that fires are prohibited as well as enforcement is one problem of this highly used area. For example, in the summer of 2016 a fire on one island caused by a picnicker resulted in 25% of the island burning.
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border between these two provinces. It is a major tributary of the St. Lawrence River and the longest river in Quebec.
Harrington Lake is the summer residence and all-season retreat of the prime minister of Canada, and also the name of the land which surrounds it. The farm that surrounded most of the lake was the property of Margaret and John Harrington. John could not farm the land and moved to the local town of Iron Sides. The family stayed on the farm for many years and eventually moved to old Ottawa. The property is located near Meech Lake—where the Meech Lake Accord was negotiated in 1987—approximately 35 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, in Gatineau Park, amidst the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. The property is not open to the public, but the Mackenzie King Estate, the retreat of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King at Kingsmere, is a tourist attraction located 2 kilometres south in the park.
Lac Beauchamp Park in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada is a large wooded park of 172 hectares built around a small lake in the middle of the suburban sprawl of the eastern part of the city. In the winter it has 15 km of ski and snowshoe trails. The lake also has a skating area. In the summer, the lake has a supervised swimming beach and canoe rentals. The ski trails are then used by amateur naturalists, hikers and bikers.
Gatineau Park is a federal park located in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a 361 square kilometres (139 sq mi) wedge of land extending north and west from the city of Gatineau. With a perimeter of 179.2 kilometres (111.3 mi), the park includes parts of the municipalities of Chelsea, Pontiac, La Pêche, and the City of Gatineau. The main entrance to the park is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of downtown Ottawa, Ontario.
Thomas Leopold "Carbide" Willson was a Canadian inventor.
Pink Lake is a meromictic lake located in Gatineau Park, Quebec, Canada. The surface of the waters are a deep green during the month of August and September due to the abundance of algae in the water. The lake is in danger of eutrophication due to human activities. Park management forbids swimming in the lake, walking domestic animals near it, straying from the wooden boardwalk for sight-seers, and throwing stones into the lake.
Leamy Lake is a lake in the Hull sector of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The lake is located just to the south of the Gatineau River, and just west of the Ottawa River, and is linked to both of them with flowing in from the Gatineau and exiting to the Ottawa. To the south is the Lac de la Carrière, a former quarry that is now a lake that is also linked.
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Green Lake — also known as Big Green Lake — is a lake in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. Green Lake has a maximum depth of 237 ft (72 m), making it the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin and the second largest by volume. The lake covers 29.72 km2 and has an average depth of 30.48 m (100.0 ft). Green Lake has 43.94 km (27.30 mi) of diverse shoreline, ranging from sandstone bluffs to marshes.
Lac Philippe is a medium-sized lake located on the north side of Gatineau Park. The lake is one of a chain of freshwater lakes found within the Gatineau park that drain into the Gatineau River through Meech Creek. It is one of the largest bodies of water in the northernmost stretches of the park, along with lac La Pêche and lac des Loups, which are located in the extreme northwestern reaches. The lake is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ottawa
Blue Sea Lake is a lake in the municipalities of Blue Sea and Messines, Quebec, Canada, about 90 kilometers (56 mi) north of Gatineau. It is known for its crystal clear water and is surrounded by cottages on its shores.
Denholm is a municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Gatineau. Its territory is along the eastern shores of Lake Sainte Marie, part of the Gatineau River.
Castle Rock Lake is an artificial lake on the Wisconsin River. It is located in central Wisconsin in Adams County and Juneau County. The lake has an inflow from Petenwell Lake, Yellow River, Big Roche a Cri., and Klien Creek. It has a surface area of 16,640 acres (67.3 km2) and its depth varies from 8–20 ft (2.4–6.1 m) in most places, with area in the old river beds reaching as deep as 35 ft (11 m).
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Victoria Island is an island in the Ottawa River, located north of LeBreton Flats, 1 km west of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The island is "a place of special significance" to the local Algonquian peoples, who use the island for ceremonial purposes and for protests. It is part of an archipelago of islands below Chaudière Falls, which also includes the former Philemon Island, Chaudière Island, Amelia Island and Albert Island.
Petit Lac Saint-François or Lake Tomcod is a lake in the municipality of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton, in regional county municipality (MRC) of Le Val-Saint-François, in the administrative region of Estrie, Quebec, Canada. Cyanobacteria are present in the lake.
Lake Saint-Charles is a lake located in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It is located partially within the Quebec City borough of La Haute-Saint-Charles and partially within the united township municipality of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury.
Selby Lake is a freshwater lake located entirely in Dunham, a city in the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region of southern Quebec, Canada.
Carheil Lake is a lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is just south of Fermont, and is the source of the Carheil River, which runs south to the Aux Pékans River. The lake has been polluted with phosphorus from wastewater effluent from Fermont, causing algal bloom. This is cause for concern since the lake is among the headwaters for the wild and unspoiled Moisie River.