Big Lake
Cumberland, Nova Scotia93 haView mapDirections
NSECC publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 36 ft max depth
- Limited data
Big Lake in Cumberland, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.7 m visibility. Phosphorus: 9 µg/L. Maximum depth: 36.1 ft. Surface area: 229.8 acres.
Big Lake is a 230-acre lake in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia with a maximum depth of 36 feet.
Source: Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change — not the EPA Water Quality Portal, last sampled 1981-08-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Big Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Deep water36.1 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Big 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.
Water quality measurements for Big Lake
These are the measurements NSECC publishes for Big 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 9 ft. Phosphorus 9 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.74m | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 9µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Big Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
11 m
Surface area
93 ha
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Fishing Big Lake
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Frequently asked questions about Big Lake
Where is Big Lake?
- Big Lake is a lake in Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Its water-quality measurements are published by NSECC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Lake?
- Big Lake in Cumberland, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.7 m visibility. Phosphorus: 9 µg/L. Maximum depth: 36.1 ft. Surface area: 229.8 acres.
Is Big Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Big Lake?
- Big Lake has a maximum depth of 36.1 feet. The lake covers 229.8 acres.
Explore Big Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 1973–1981. Retrieved from Nova Scotia open data (not the EPA Water Quality Portal) on 2026-08-16.
Collected and reported by
- Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change
Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change3 samples · 1981 - Lands and Forests
Lands and Forests1 sample · 1973
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
17
Canadian lakes are published with the measurements their provincial programme reports. See where the data comes from and data sources.