Jack Lake (Peterborough County)

The lake can be generally characterised as having a fairly irregular shape, dominated by three deeply indented main bays and having numerous smaller or tertiary bays. Named bays are Brooks Bay at the northwest, Callahan Bay at the middle east, Long Bay at the south, McCoy Bay at the southeast, Rathbun Bay at the middle east, Redmond Bay at the north, and Sharpe Bay (the largest) at the west. The average water level at the dam varies between a minimum of in January and a maximum of in May. Jack Lake is at an elevation of . ==Natural history==

The lake served as a field research centre, water quality monitoring site and testing or analysis base for Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute (NWRI) through into the 1990s. Specific and longitudinal research work has been supported by a variety of academic centres and universities over the past few decades. Work done during this period has helped to improve understanding of how freshwater environments are impacted upon by development, recreation and wider changes within the natural environment. Jack Lake was originally home to bass and trout. As the lake developed as a tourist attraction in its own right, and as a feeder lake within the wider catchment that supports the Trent-Severn Waterway, fish species such as muskellunge, walleye, rock bass, and perch were also introduced from approximately the 1920s. More recently, Black Crappie have been introduced and are a primary target for summer and winter fisherman. Ongoing provincial and federally supported environmental stewardship and related work experience initiatives occur on the lake from year to year. ==Families of the Lake==

The Lean’s were amongst the first pioneers of the lake. Later the Long’s, Wagar’s, Kennett’s, Jackson’s, William’s, and Washburn’s created familial legacies on the lake through either business or leisure. ==References==