Virtual Map

Take a virtual tour of IISD Experimental Lakes Area! Click on the icons below to discover everything from what happens when you arrive to where we sleep, eat, and research fresh water like nowhere else on the planet.

 

Our Featured Lakes

Lake 114

Lake 114 is known as the “minnow lake”—a small shallow lake that has only small fish species, including fathead minnow, dace, and stickleback.

Learn More
Lake 223

Quite simply, Lake 223 is one of our most famous experimental lakes.

Learn More
Lake 224

In our region of stunning lakes, Lake 224 still manages to shine. With a maximum depth of 28 metres, it’s incredibly clear and blue in colour, with surrounding rocky outcrops and older-growth pine and spruce.

Learn More
Lake 226: McCutcheon Lake

Best known for what is described as “the most famous picture in limnology,” Lake 226 is an hourglass-shaped lake that changed the world’s understanding of nutrients and algae.

Learn More
Lake 227

Lake 227 is home to the longest-running whole-lake experiment in the world.

Learn More
Lake 239: Rawson Lake

Located right next to the camp, Lake 239 is the most comprehensively studied long-term reference lake at the IISD Experimental Lakes Area.

Learn More
Lake 240: Harris Lake

Lake 240 has been a reference lake for many of our studies, including much of the mercury research in the 1990s.

Learn More
Lake 260

Lake 260 has been the site of two of our most well-known experiments over the last 20 years.

Learn More
Lake 302

Located along Pine Road, Lake 302 is a double-basin lake that has played a critical role in some of our most famous and impactful experiments.

Learn More
Lakes 303 and 304

Lakes 303 and 304 are two small headwater lakes that have been instrumental in eutrophication research at IISD-ELA.

Learn More
Lake 373

Lake 373 is a breathtaking lake west of Pine Road, which leads to the site. Lake 373 was an important reference lake for many experiments and is now being used as a reference for the microplastics study.

Learn More
Lake 375

Lake 375 is the beautiful site of a whole-ecosystem study examining the impacts of freshwater aquaculture and domestic and industrial cleaners.

Learn More
Lake 442

Lake 442 is home to everything from trout, sucker, and dace to shiners, stickleback, and sculpin. It is a vital part of our fish population record and LTER program.

Learn More
Lake 658

Lake 658 is a small, remote lake that has helped us understand how mercury cycles through the environment.

Learn More
Switch to Our Facilities

 

Feeling a little more analogue? Download and print a map of the world’s freshwater laboratory here.

Steward a Lake

Want to make protecting the world’s fresh water for future generations part of your legacy? Learn how to become an official IISD-ELA Steward.

Steward an IISD-ELA Lake

Livestream