Editing Lake Scugog

{{Short description|Lake in southern Ontario, Canada}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake Scugog
| image = Lake_Scugog.jpg
| caption = Lake Scugog near [[Port Perry]]
| pushpin_map = Canada Southern Ontario
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in southern Ontario
| image_bathymetry = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location = [[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham Region]] & [[Kawartha Lakes]], [[Ontario]]
| group = [[Kawartha Lakes (Ontario)|Kawartha Lakes]]
| coords = {{coord|44|11|00|N|78|51|26|W|region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="CGNDB">{{cite cgndb|id= FDVYQ|title= Lake Scugog|accessdate= 2015-02-09}}</ref>
| type = [[artificial lake|Artificial]], [[eutrophic lake|eutrophic]]
| part_of = [[Great Lakes Basin]]
| inflow = [[Nonquon River]], [[Blackstock Creek]], [[Cawkers Creek]]
| outflow = [[Scugog River]]
| catchment = {{convert|529|km2|sqmi}}
| basin_countries = Canada
| area = {{convert|68|km2|sqmi}}
| depth = {{convert|1.4|m|ftin}}
| max-depth = {{convert|7.6|m|ftin}}
| volume = {{convert|0.0957|km3|cumi}}
| shore = {{convert|172|km}}
| elevation = {{convert|249.9|m|ftin}}
| frozen = 
| islands = Scugog Island
| cities = [[Port Perry]], [[Lindsay, Ontario|Lindsay]]
}}

'''Lake Scugog''' is an [[artificial lake|artificially flooded]] [[lake]] in [[Scugog]], [[Regional Municipality of Durham]] and the unitary city of [[Kawartha Lakes]] in [[central Ontario]], Canada.<ref name="CGNDB"/> It lies between the communities of [[Port Perry]] and [[Lindsay, Ontario|Lindsay]]. The lake has been raised and lowered several times over its history. Though not technically part of the [[Kawartha lakes (Ontario)|Kawartha lakes]] due to its shallow depths, it is often geographically linked to them. Its sole [[discharge (hydrology)|outflow]], the [[Scugog River]], connects to [[Sturgeon Lake (Ontario)|Sturgeon Lake]]. Lake Scugog is in the [[Great Lakes Basin]] and forms part of the [[Trent–Severn Waterway]].

==Etymology==

The name "Scugog" may be an [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] word meaning "marshy waters".  However, according to ''Place Names of Ontario'' by Alan Rayburn, Scugog is a [[Mississaugas|Mississauga]] word meaning 'waves leap over a canoe' in reference, perhaps, to the flooding of the river valley, or, more likely, the quickness that waves can be whipped up in winds, owing to its shallowness.<ref>Alan Rayburn. Place Names of Ontario. University of Toronto Press, 1997 - History - 404 p.</ref>

==Geography==

[[File:KL Scugog Lake.svg|thumb|180px|left|A map of the city of Kawartha Lakes, with Lake Scugog highlighted in orange.]]
With 68&nbsp;km² with an average depth of 1.4&nbsp;metres, Lake Scugog is amongst the largest five lakes of the Kawarthas by [[surface area]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} It is also the shallowest, alongside [[Mitchell Lake (Ontario)|Mitchell Lake]]  It is fed by the Blackstock and Cawkers Creeks and the Nonquon River, as well as by many small unnamed [[tributaries]]. The Scugog River is the only outflow from the lake, flowing into Sturgeon Lake which drains through the [[Trent River (Ontario)|Trent watershed]].<ref>
{{cite web
| title = Trent Watershed Study (topography and drainage map)
| url = http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/water/groundwater/trent_river_watershed/paleozoic/Map02-TopographyandDrainage.pdf
| accessdate = 2009-07-30}}

</ref> Other communities surrounding the lake include [[Seagrave, Ontario|Seagrave]], Port Perry, [[View Lake, Ontario|View Lake]] and Caesarea. [[Scugog Island]] (whose island status is debatable due to the south-western edge being a seasonally flooded swamp) lay in the centre of the lake.

A {{convert|2.58|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} [[Mississaugas|Mississaugian]] Indian Reserve of about 50 residents exists on Scugog Island,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Statistics Canada 2001 Census Community Profiles, Mississaugas of Scugog Island
| year = 2001
| url = http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3518022&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=mississaugas&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130115145017/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3518022&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=mississaugas&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = January 15, 2013
| accessdate = 2009-07-30
}}</ref> and includes the [[Great Blue Heron Casino]], amongst the many seasonal cottagers on the island and around the lake.

==Hydrology==

It is a hard-water [[marl]]-producing lake, and the lake bottom consists of deep deposits of it. This gives the lake a murky appearance in warm weather, especially during the summer. The lake is reportedly filling in with this marl by about 1 millimetre per year.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}

In dry summer weather, the Scugog River ceases to flow out of the lake, and its tributary streams of Mariposa Brook and East Cross Creek flow backward into the lake via the river to offset the high evaporative losses off the lake and marsh surfaces.

==History==

The lake has had a history of water level changes. Originally, it was essentially two lakes connected via a broad channel flowing through a [[marsh]]y area along the north end. The lake was flooded approximately ten feet when William Purdy and his sons [[dam]]med the [[Scugog River]] at [[Lindsay, Ontario|Lindsay]] (Upstream from the current dam and locks) in 1834 to power his [[grist mill]].<ref name="history p30">{{citation

 | last = Kirkconnell | first = Watson
 | title = County of Victoria, Centennial History
 | page = 30
 | publisher = Victoria County Council
 | year = 1967
 | url = http://www.canadiangenealogy.net/ontario/victoriacounty/eastern_concessions.htm#Annals
 | accessdate = 2009-07-30
}}</ref> During this period of high water levels through the 1930s, today's so-called islands of Washburn, Nonquon (now Seven Mile), Ball, Platten, and the enormous centrally located Scugog came into existence as islands. Today, these form part of the mainland, with the exception of Scugog Island, which is generally maintained as an island by man-made channels around the swampy south end of the island.

The stagnant waters of the lake caused a wave of deadly fevers in the surrounding farms, and the new lake limits quickly became very unpopular with the local residents. On one day in the summer of 1838, settlers from the countryside surrounding the lake rose up and using axes, flintlocks and pitchforks, tore the dam apart, lowering the lake once more.<ref name="history p31">{{citation

 | last = Kirkconnell | first = Watson
 | title = County of Victoria, Centennial History
 | page = 31
 | publisher = Victoria County Council
 | year = 1967
 | url = http://www.canadiangenealogy.net/ontario/victoriacounty/eastern_concessions.htm#Annals
 | accessdate = 2009-07-30
}}</ref> No charges were laid due to the general anger towards the water height by residents, and because of a deal reached between Purdy and the [[Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (Ontario)#Public Works|Board of Works of the Province of Canada]], on December 18, 1843. Mr. Purdy was forced to lower the elevation to something approximating its natural maximum spring high-water level, a reduction in the height of the previous dam by about three feet. The Board of Works constructed the dam and a lock for navigation into Lake Scugog, which was completed in 1844 and included a [[log flume]].<ref name="history p32">{{citation

 | last = Kirkconnell | first = Watson
 | title = County of Victoria, Centennial History
 | page = 32
 | publisher = Victoria County Council
 | year = 1967
 | url = http://www.canadiangenealogy.net/ontario/victoriacounty/eastern_concessions.htm#Annals
 | accessdate = 2009-07-30
}}</ref> In exchange, Purdy relinquished all claims against the damage done by residents, and maintained the dam and flume.

==Natural history==

The original body of water consisted of the upper sections of the current lake and was more ideally a shallow marsh than an actual lake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scugogheritage.com/history/reachtwphistory.htm|title=Port Perry / Scugog TWP. Heritage Gallery}}</ref>

The marshes of the lake prior to flooding were filled with [[wild rice]] stands and [[cranberry|cranberries]] harvested by the native [[Mississaugas]]. The flooding of the lakes contributed greatly to their destruction.

It is surrounded by [[swamp]]s and [[marsh]]es which provide ideal habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Lake Scugog has an array of [[fish]], including an abundant supply of [[largemouth bass]], [[walleye]], [[crappie]], musky, perch, carp, catfish, rock bass, smallmouth bass and minnows. Due to a dwindling walleye population, there is no season to catch or keep walleye. It is a renowned fishing location in southern Ontario.<ref>{{cite web
| title = The Fishing Guide - Lake Scugog
| url = http://www.thefishinguide.com/scugog.shtml
| accessdate = 2009-07-30}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Lake Scugog.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Lake Scugog seen from the air in winter]]
[[File:Lake Scugog Sundown.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sundown on the Lake Scugog]]
Like many of the lakes of southern Ontario, Scugog served for a time as a vessel for transporting logs downstream to [[Trenton, Ontario|Trenton]] in the early nineteenth century.<ref name="history p30to33">{{citation

 | last = Kirkconnell | first = Watson
 | title = County of Victoria, Centennial History
 | pages = 30&ndash;33
 | publisher = Victoria County Council
 | year = 1967
 | url = http://www.canadiangenealogy.net/ontario/victoriacounty/eastern_concessions.htm#Annals
 | accessdate = 2009-07-30
}}</ref> This resource became quickly exhausted with the rapid sawing of pine in the area. The Trent Canal (Now the [[Trent-Severn Waterway]]) was constructed through Lindsay in late 1800s{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} to facilitate [[steamboat]] travel to Sturgeon Lake and [[Lake Ontario]] as the boats were constructed in Port Perry.

Today, the lake is a tourist area, forming the southern boundary to "Cottage Country". The towns of Port Perry and Lindsay benefit from the recreational [[boating]] through the Trent-Severn Waterway by vacationers in the summer. Fishing is also a major attraction of the lake, as its shallow weed-filled bed is host to an abundance of species.

==Watershed==
A list of rivers feeding to and from the lake:
* Nonquon River - flows from the southwest (near Utica) towards Seagrave. The river empties into Lake Scugog southeast of Seagrave.
* Cawkers Creek - flow from southwest end of Port Perry southwards for 16&nbsp;km
* Mariposa Brook - also known as Big Creek, Black Creek, Davidson's Creek, and West Cross Creek begins in swamps near Manilla then flows northeast to then south past Little Britain and then east to empty into the Scugog River at Ops
* Blackstock Creek - found southeast of Lake Scugog between the Lake Scugog and East Cross Creek 
* [[Scugog River]]

==Osler Marsh==

The marsh on the lake along the Port Perry Causeway south of [[Port Perry, Ontario]] is named for [[Henry Smith Osler]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Scugog Marshland |url=http://www.scugogheritage.com/misc/scugogmarsh.htm |website=Port Perry / Scugog Township Heritage Gallery |accessdate=24 November 2018}}</ref> who was one of the earlier owners of land which contains the marshes. The current marsh area covers {{convert|417|ha|a}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Lake Scugog Subwatershed |url=http://kawarthaconservation.com/lake-scugog |publisher=Kawartha Conservation |accessdate=24 November 2018}}</ref> of wetlands.

==See also==
*[[List of lakes in Ontario]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{City of Kawartha Lakes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scugog}}
[[Category:Lakes of Kawartha Lakes]]
[[Category:Artificial lakes of Canada]]