Lake Mégantic

"Lac Mégantic" redirects here. For the town named after the lake, see Lac-Mégantic. For the July 2013 train derailment, see Lac-Mégantic derailment. For other uses, see Mégantic.

Lake Mégantic (French: Lac Mégantic, French pronunciation: [lak meɡɑ̃tik]) is a large body of water in Québec, Canada, located in the Appalachian Mountains near the U.S. border. It is a source of the Chaudière River which drains into the St Lawrence River at Québec City.^[1] The lake has a surface area of 26.4 km² (10.2 sq mi) with several villages and small towns on its shores, including Lac-Mégantic, Frontenac, Marston, and Piopolis. It is part of Le Granit Regional County Municipality, a rural region where forestry and granite extraction are important activities.^[2]

Lake Mégantic Lac Mégantic
Lake Mégantic in Piopolis
Lake Mégantic Lac Mégantic
Location	Le Granit Regional County Municipality, Estrie, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates	45°30′50″N 70°52′38″W
Type	Glacial lake
Primary inflows	Arnold River
Primary outflows	Chaudière River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	16 kilometres (9.9 mi)
Max. width	3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi)
Surface area	26.4 square kilometres (10.2 sq mi)
Average depth	75 m (246 ft)
Shore length1	45.4 km (28.2 mi)
Surface elevation	395 metres (1,296 ft)
Settlements	Lac-Mégantic, Frontenac, Marston, and Piopolis
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Toponymy

The name may derive from Namagôntekw, which in the Abenaki language means place where there is trout in the lake. The name has had many variants, including Amaguntik on maps documenting the 1775 American invasion of Quebec.^[3]

Physical geography

The water surface is 395 m (1,296 ft) above mean sea level and the lake has an average depth of 75 m (246 ft); its total surface area is 26.4 square kilometres (10.2 sq mi), with a total shoreline of 45.4 km (28.2 mi). Its length is about 16 km (9.9 mi) and it has an average width of 3.5 km (2.2 mi).

Conservation

It is the site of the Lake Megantic Marsh, a 755 hectare habitat that hosts migratory birds and is a breeding site.^[4]