Our Lake
Stewart Lake is situated in the District Municipality of Muskoka. The lake supports a community that combines both full-time and seasonal residents, offering recreational/social opportunities, esthetic benefits and drinking water to the 113 cottages on its shores and to the residents of MacTier.
Geologically, the area encompassing the lake is known as the Pre-Cambrian Shield, characterized by its rolling hills, shallow soils and granite-based bedrock. The lake is part of the Lake Joseph subwatershed, which drains into the larger Muskoka River Watershed. The lake is fed gradually through a wetland on the southwest bay of the lake. It’s waters flow out from a control structure on the northeast bay into an immediate drainage basin approximately 7.5 square kilometers in size.
Stewart Lake Characteristics
Location
Province of Ontario
Region
The District Municipality of Muskoka
Township
The Township of Georgian Bay & The Township of Muskoka Lakes
Community
MacTier
GPS Coordinates • 45°8’0” N 79°46’0” W
Lake-Scale Characteristics
Lake Area
1.55 km²
Perimeter – 10.1 km
Island Shoreline – 0.5 km
Elevation – 239 m
(metres above sea level)
Maximum Lake Depth
20.4 m
Mean Lake Depth – 8.2 m
Wetland Area – 6.56%
Littoral Zone – 53%
Flushing Rate – 2.3 years
Limnology
micrograms per litre – 8
Secchi Depth – 3.3m
Phosphorus- ten year average (2000-2010)
Summary of Land Use
Natural Beach
64.69 m – 0.53%
Man Made Beach
519.22 m – 4.28%
Mixed Forest
699.07 m – 5.77%
Thinned Forest
82.89 m – 0.68%
Overgrowth
667.21 m – 5.59%
Rock
5,631.63 m – 46.46%
Shrubs
3,870.80 m – 31.94%
Wetland
46.35 m – 0.38%
Stone Shorewall
372.42 m – 3.07%
Wood Shorewall
90.17 m – 0.74%
Buffered Lawn
42.55 m – 0.36%
Unbuffered Lawn
22.57 m – 0.19%
Total Shoreline
12,120.57 m – 100.00%
Natural Shoreline
10,989.80 m – 90.67%
Altered Shoreline
1,130.82 m – 9.33%
In June of 2010 the District Municipality of Muskoka conducted a shoreline survey. The resulting map shows each property that borders the shoreline of Stewart Lake and indicates the type of shoreline present. The survey also includes the percentage of each shoreline type that is present on Stewart Lake.