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Bear Lake

Pictou, Nova Scotia3 haView mapDirections

NSECC publishes the water-quality measurements for Bear Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
2.4 m
Typical for Nova Scotia
Secchi · sampled 1975
Max depth
3 m
Bathymetric survey
Area
3 ha
Surface area
  • 10 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Bear Lake in Pictou, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 m visibility. Maximum depth: 9.8 ft. Surface area: 6.2 acres.

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Bear Lake is a 6-acre lake in Pictou County, Nova Scotia with a maximum depth of 10 feet (5-foot average).

Source: Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change — not the EPA Water Quality Portal, last sampled 1975-07-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Bear Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Bear Lake

These are the measurements NSECC publishes for Bear Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.9 ft. TSI 47.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)2.4mMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo reading

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

Chlorophyll-a (algae)No reading

The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water.

Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.47Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

3 m

Average depth

1.5 m

Surface area

3 ha

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Nearby Lakes in Pictou

Frequently asked questions about Bear Lake

Where is Bear Lake?

Bear Lake is a lake in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Its water-quality measurements are published by NSECC and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Bear Lake?

Bear Lake in Pictou, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 m visibility. Maximum depth: 9.8 ft. Surface area: 6.2 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Bear Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Bear Lake?

Bear Lake has a maximum depth of 9.8 feet and an average depth of 4.9 feet. The lake covers 6.2 acres.

Mesotrophic Lakes in Nova Scotia

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 1975. Retrieved from Nova Scotia open data (not the EPA Water Quality Portal) on 2026-08-16.

Collected and reported by

  • Lands and ForestsLands and Forests1 sample · 1975
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
  • 989

Canadian lakes are published with the measurements their provincial programme reports. See where the data comes from and data sources.