Charles Lake
Halifax, Nova Scotia114 haView mapDirections
NSECC publishes the water-quality measurements for Charles Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 92 ft max depth
- Limited data
Charles Lake in Halifax, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.2 m visibility. Phosphorus: 7.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.6 µg/L. Maximum depth: 91.9 ft. Surface area: 280.7 acres.
Charles Lake is a 281-acre lake in Halifax County, Nova Scotia with a maximum depth of 92 feet (30-foot average).
Source: Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change — not the EPA Water Quality Portal, last sampled 2007-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Charles Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water20.2 ft of visibility
- Deep water91.9 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 Charles 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 Charles Lake
These are the measurements NSECC publishes for Charles Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 20.2 ft down. Phosphorus 7.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 0.6 µg/L. TSI 31.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.16m | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 7.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 0.6µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 31 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Charles Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
28 m
Average depth
9.1 m
Surface area
114 ha
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Fishing Charles Lake
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Frequently asked questions about Charles Lake
Where is Charles Lake?
- Charles Lake is a lake in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its water-quality measurements are published by NSECC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Charles Lake?
- Charles Lake in Halifax, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.2 m visibility. Phosphorus: 7.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.6 µg/L. Maximum depth: 91.9 ft. Surface area: 280.7 acres.
Is Charles Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Charles Lake?
- Charles Lake has a maximum depth of 91.9 feet and an average depth of 29.9 feet. The lake covers 280.7 acres.
Explore Charles Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 1971–2007. Retrieved from Nova Scotia open data (not the EPA Water Quality Portal) on 2026-08-16.
Collected and reported by
- NSDFA
NSDFA1 sample · 2007 - Environment Canada- Shubenacadie Headwaters Enviro
Environment Canada- Shubenacadie Headwaters Enviro1 sample · 1974 - DFO
DFO1 sample · 1971 - Submitting organization not recorded for these samples1 sample · 1971
Some records reached the portal without a submitting organization. Those samples are counted above but not attributed.
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
18
Canadian lakes are published with the measurements their provincial programme reports. See where the data comes from and data sources.