Big Rideau Lake is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the municipalities of

Tay Valley Tay Valley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, on the Tay River in the southwest corner of Lanark County, adjacent to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and Frontenac County. The township administrative offices are located in Glen ...

and

Drummond/North Elmsley Drummond/North Elmsley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada in Lanark County. It is situated on the north shore of the Rideau River between the town of Perth and the town of Smiths Falls. It is a predominantly rural municipality. The township ...

Lanark County Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the Cou ...

and

Rideau Lakes Rideau Lakes is a township located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The township was incorporated on 1 January 1998 by amalgamating the former townships of North Crosby, South Crosby, Bastard, South Burgess a ...

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the international boundary between ...

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The lake is on the border between the two counties, to the southwest of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. It is long and is wide, is much narrower at its northeastern end than at its southwestern end, and is part of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. It is the largest lake on the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

, which was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007.

Hydrology

The primary inflow, at the southwest, is the Rideau River/Rideau Canal from

Upper Rideau Lake Upper Rideau Lake is located in the municipality of Rideau Lakes, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Saint Lawrence River Drainage Basin, and geographically the highest lake on the Rideau Canal System. ...

via The Narrows channel and the Narrows lock and control structures. A second primary inflow is Black Creek at the west. The primary outflow, at the north, is also the Rideau River/Rideau Canal which leads via a channel to

Lower Rideau Lake Big Rideau Lake is a lake in the municipalities of Tay Valley and Drummond/North Elmsley, Lanark County and Rideau Lakes, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The lake is on the border between the two counties, to th ...

. The Rideau River and Canal flow to the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

and then to the Saint Lawrence River.

Settlements

The small community of Rideau Ferry is located at the junction between the Big Rideau and Lower Rideau Lake, at the northeastern end of the lake. The community of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

is located along the southern shore of the lake.

Recreation

The

shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

of the Big Rideau Lake is lined with hundreds of

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

s. A public

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

area and

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

, Murphys Point Provincial Park, is located along a substantial stretch of the shoreline on the northern side of the lake. The Big Rideau Lake Association (BRLA) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that was formed in 1911, and operates summer programs from Cow Island, one of the many islands in Big Rideau. Its purpose is "to preserve and enhance the quality of life on Big Rideau Lake." The BRLA places private shoal markers throughout the lake, marking hazards underwater at some times in the navigational season. A group of markers indicate the extent of a shoal: go around, not between. Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill, who played a role in founding the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

, loved sailing on the lake,Paulina Hrebecka, "Portland historical society honours founding father of Royal Canadian Navy," Smiths Falls Record News, August 26 2019 and had a summer house on Grindstone Island. He died on Grindstone in July 1935.

Events

The

International Big Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon The International Big Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon is an annual speed skating competition held in Ontario, Canada. The event takes place on a 1km marked out track on the Big Rideau Lake. Besides hosting the Official 2006 North American Marath ...

is an annual event.

Natural History

The common fish found in the Big Rideau Lake include Sunfish,

Rock Bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

Large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...

and Small Mouth Bass,

Crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

Walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

and

Lake Trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

Tributaries

*Rideau River *Black Creek

References

Other map sources: * * {{refend

External links

Murphy's Point

Big Rideau Lake Association
Lakes of Lanark County Lakes of Leeds and Grenville United Counties