Topography

Physical Data

Picture
Latitude - 45.26
Longitude - 77.12
Surface Area - 4275 acres (1730 hectares)
Volume - 156,500 acre feet (193,039,910 cubic metres)
Height Above Sea Level - 755 feet (230m)
Perimeter - 19.6 miles (31.5 km)
Maximum Depth - 140 feet (42.6m)
Mean Depth - 36.6 feet (11 m)


Lake Clear is situated on the southern edge of the Ottawa-Bonnechere graben rift valley.  Along its south shore is the escarpment of Mount St. Patrick fault. Of all the Bonnechere watershed lakes, Lake clear has the second longest shoreline at 46 km. The lake is situated on Precambrian rock.

Hurd's Creek

Picture
The creek between Lake Clear and Little Lake Clear is one of the best paddling spots around.  It is a great place to count painted turtles and is one of the most prolific snapping turtle sites in the Bonnechere watershed.  You will see many water lilies and cattails there, also.

Physiography of the Lake
http://www.lakeclearconservancy.ca/geography

Picture



Lake Characteristics

Thermal stratification was evident at the time the lake was surveyed.  Water Temperatures dropped from 74F degrees to 52F degrees between the twenty-five and forty-five foot depths identified the thermocline (the layer of water in which there was the most rapid decrease in temperature). The dissolved oxygen content varied slightly from 8.0 parts per million at the surface to 6.0 parts per million at seventy-five feet. The mean 7.8 ph value showed an alkaline characteristic in relation to the hydrogen ion composition of the water. A total dissolved parts concentration of 144 parts per million was determined from conductivity readings. Clarity in this blue coloured water was indicated by the disappearance of the secchi disk from view twenty feet below the water surface. Water levels are controlled by the Renfrew Hydro Electric Commission, http://www.renfrewhydro.com/, damn at Hurd's Creek. 


 Big Rock

Picture
Big Rock is possibly the most recognizable landmark on the lake.  It is located on the northeast shore.  It is a peregrine falcon nesting site. In the afternoon sun, when the shadows are just right, it resembles an Indian head.

Group of Seven painter, A.Y. Jackson painted Big Rock among his many landscape portraits of this area.  A trail commemorating this and other locations, and paying tribute to local artists, has been established: www.ayjacksontrail.ca.