The lake is almost circular in shape and has several smaller lakes located to the west including Lake Kubitch and Carbul Lake. A smaller lake, Quallilup Lake is located further to the south near Shelley Beach. The lake and its surrounds are situated in the Albany-Fraser
Orogen with
alluvial sediments overlying
gneiss,
sandstone and
limestone on a sub-coastal plain. The lake itself is a sub-terminal drainage basin. The wetland area has a total volume of and a total catchment area of .
Hydrology The lake is recharged mostly via surface flow from the
Dalyup River directly into Lake Gore with Coobidge Creek supplying many of the surrounding lake systems. The maximum depth of Lake Gore is recorded as in 1986 when the lake was inundated but with a mean depth of and the lake has dried up several times the last being in 1984. The water is
colourless and has low
tannin levels. The
salinity of the river varies depending on rainfall, the minimum salinity is recorded as 6.5
ppt but the September mean is 52ppt. Salinity levels rise as the lake dries out in summer. The
pH of the lake water fluctuates between 7.1 and 9.4. The Lake Gore system has been identified by
BirdLife International as an
Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world population of
hooded plovers and has also supported over 1% of the world populations of
Australian shelducks and
banded stilts. ==Protection==