'Lake Scugog' is a
lake in
Scugog Township near the town of
Port Perry, Ontario. The lake has an area of
514 km² with an average depth of 1.3 m. The lake is fed by the
Nonquon and
Layton Rivers and drained by the
Scugog River. The depth of the lake has become more shallow over the past century as development around the lake has removed most of its
forest cover, allowing it to fill with
silt.
The lake was formed when William Purdy dammed the Scugog River at
Lindsay, Ontario in
1834 to power his
grist mill. The new lake was originally very unpopular with the local residents; its formation also destroyed the
wild rice stands and
cranberries harvested by the native
Mississaugas. Today, the lake is used for
fishing and recreational
boating. The lake is surrounded by
swamps and
marshes which provide habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.
Lake Scogog also has an array of
Fish, such as
Muskellunge,
sucker,
bullhead,
carp,
rock bass,
pumpkinseed,
smallmouth bass,
largemouth bass,
yellow perch and
walleye.
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The name "Scugog" may be an
Ojibwe word meaning "marshy waters". However, according to ''Place Names of Ontario'' by Alan Rayburn, Scugog is a
Mississauga word meaning 'waves leap over a canoe' in reference to the flooding of the river valley.
Fish deaths
In
June 2007, residents in Port Perry, Ontario are finding that fish have begun dying in Lake Scugog, where mostly carp has been dying. Residents around the lake have found approximately 500 carp carcasses per day.
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Watershed
A list of rivers feeding to and from the lake:
★ Cawkers Creek