Nelson Lake

Quality Characteristics

Spring Phosphorus Results
The 2018 spring phosphorus value for Nelson Lake is 4.3 µg/L. The average total spring phosphorus for Nelson Lake since 2002 is 3.67 µg/L which is well below the Provincial Water Quality Objective of 20.0 µg/L and indicates that this lake is oligotrophic.

For more detailed information, download the graph illustrating the spring phosphorus levels in Nelson Lake from 2002 to 2021 (PDF 75 KB).

General Information

Population
Nelson Lake has no permanent residents, but has 35 seasonal/recreational residents.

Location & Lake Characteristics
Nelson Lake is located in Bowell and Wisner townships, 30 kilometres north of downtown Sudbury, in Valley East. Nelson Lake is 308.8 hectares in size and has a shoreline perimeter of 21.2 kilometres. Nelson Lake is a large, deep lake with a maximum depth of 51 metres. View maps of Nelson Lake.

Watershed Information
Nelson Lake is located in the Nelson River Watershed. The drainage basin has an area of 798 hectares. For more information on the watershed click on the following link: Watershed Map.

History
Nelson Lake is a headwater lake that has been used as an environmental ecological monitoring lake specifically for air quality (smelter emissions reductions) in the area. For more information, contact the Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit.

Lake Stewardship
For information regarding the Lake Stewardship groups in Greater Sudbury or for information on how to start your own lake association, visit the Lake Stewardship link.

Biological Characteristics

Fish Species
View the list Nelson Lake's documented fish species.

Aquatic Insects
There is currently no data for aquatic insects.

Aquatic Plants
There is currently no data for aquatic plants.