Lake Kejimkujik, Nova Scotia
Published: August 21, 2008, 2:30 pm
Updated: August 21, 2008, 2:30 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Mark McGinley Physical Attributes
- Altitude: 90 m above sea level
- Surface Area: 26.3 sq. km
- Mean Depth: 4 m
- Maximum Depth: 19.2 m
- Volume: 0.106 cu. km
- Shoreline Length: 45 km
- Drainage Basin: 289 sq km
General Description
Kejimkujik Lake is located in central Nova Scotia within Kejimkujik National Park. This freshwater lake is close to the ocean (60 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean and 40 km inland from the Bay of Fundy) and is consequently slightly salty. Water flows into the lake out of peatlands and has high levels of humic acids. Mersey River is the main outflow from the lake. Kejimkujik Lake is oligotrophic, shallow and does not develop a hypolimnion during the summer. This lake is dimictic and is frozen from the end of December to mid-April. Several small islands on the lake comprise a total area of 1.97 sq km. Since Kejimkujik Lake naturally has a low buffering capacity and acidic waters, acid rain resulting from the long range transport of pollutants has caused serious damage to this ecosystem. The pH of the lake is chronically depressed (4.8 annual mean) and as a result, salmon populations downstream of the lake have collapsed due to reproductive failure.
Watershed
Kejimkujik Lake is found on Devonian granite bedrock. The drainage basin is 99% covered by forest, bogs and lakes.
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Citation
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Paul D. N. Hebert (Lead Author);Mark McGinley (Topic Editor) "Lake Kejimkujik, Nova Scotia". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 21, 2008; Last revised Date August 21, 2008; Retrieved June 19, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Kejimkujik,_Nova_Scotia>
The Authors
The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to improving the understanding of biodiversity at all scales, from the genetic to the macroecological. Based at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, BIO is host to more than 30 university faculty and their research groups representing a wide range of biological expertise. BIO also includes specialized support staff and unique research and outreach capabilities designed to foster both academi ... (Full Bio)
After receiving his Ph.D. in genetics at Cambridge University in 1972, Paul Hebert took up a Rutherford Fellowship at the University of Sydney. He returned to Canada in 1976, accepting a position at the University of Windsor where he was a professor in Biological Sciences and Director of the Great Lakes Institute. He moved to the University of Guelph in 1990 as Chair of the Department of Zoology. He has been a visiting professor at the Australian National University, the Czech Academy of Scienc ... (Full Bio)
Physical Attributes
- Altitude: 90 m above sea level
- Surface Area: 26.3 sq. km
- Mean Depth: 4 m
- Maximum Depth: 19.2 m
- Volume: 0.106 cu. km
- Shoreline Length: 45 km
- Drainage Basin: 289 sq km
General Description
Kejimkujik Lake is located in central Nova Scotia within Kejimkujik National Park. This freshwater lake is close to the ocean (60 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean and 40 km inland from the Bay of Fundy) and is consequently slightly salty. Water flows into the lake out of peatlands and has high levels of humic acids. Mersey River is the main outflow from the lake. Kejimkujik Lake is oligotrophic, shallow and does not develop a hypolimnion during the summer. This lake is dimictic and is frozen from the end of December to mid-April. Several small islands on the lake comprise a total area of 1.97 sq km. Since Kejimkujik Lake naturally has a low buffering capacity and acidic waters, acid rain resulting from the long range transport of pollutants has caused serious damage to this ecosystem. The pH of the lake is chronically depressed (4.8 annual mean) and as a result, salmon populations downstream of the lake have collapsed due to reproductive failure.
Watershed
Kejimkujik Lake is found on Devonian granite bedrock. The drainage basin is 99% covered by forest, bogs and lakes.
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(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
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