Draft:Pearl Lake (Timmins, Ontario)

  • Comment: Needs more than two sources. Jdcomix (talk) 22:54, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

Pearl Lake
North shore of Pearl Lake in 2006
Pearl Lake is located in Ontario
Pearl Lake
Pearl Lake
Pearl Lake is located in Canada
Pearl Lake
Pearl Lake
LocationTimmins, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates48°28′44″N 81°17′34″W / 48.4788844°N 81.2927890°W / 48.4788844; -81.2927890
Surface area268,000 square metres (2,880,000 sq ft)
Average depth17 feet (5.2 m)
Max. depth42 feet (13 m)
Water volume1,426,000 cubic metres (50,400,000 cu ft)
Islands0

Pearl Lake is a lake in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. It is the site of the McIntyre mine, one of the largest former gold mines in Canada, in operation from 1912 to 1988, which is located on the north shore of the lake. The lake was a focal point for economic and community life in Schumacher, Ontario before amalgamation into Timmins in 1973 [1]. The lake is bordered on the south by Highway 101, in the southwest by the McIntyre Arena. There is one residential property on the lake, located on the northeast corner.

Until the advent of mining activity in the area, Pearl Lake once consisted of two basins connected by a narrow channel. The eastern basin consists of modern-day Pearl Lake. The western basin was partially filled with tailings during the early 20th century and used as a park. In the 1980s, Jimberlana Minerals dug up the entire site, including the park, to process the tailings. The company abandoned the site in the early 1990s when the price of gold plummeted, allowing the lake to fill again. This smaller western basin is thus known unofficially as either Little Pearl Lake or (more derisively) Lake Welin, after a former mayor under whose tenure the lake was refilled.[2]

Little Pearl Lake remains mostly filled with tailings and is thus very shallow. Similarly, much of the western portion of modern Pearl Lake has been filled with tailings due to its former connection with Little Pearl Lake, reaching a maximum depth of around 20 feet (6.1 m). Changes in mining regulations led to the creation of a tailings dam, which prevented more of the lakes from being filled in. As such, the eastern half of Pearl Lake is much deeper, reaching a maximum 42 feet (13 m).

References

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  1. ^ "This Schumacher lake used to be a swimming hot spot". Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Push for change at site of tragedy". Retrieved 8 August 2024.