Meech Lake (french: Lac Meech) is located within

Gatineau Park Gatineau Park (french: Parc de la Gatineau) is a federal park located in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge of land extendi ...

in the Municipality of Chelsea,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It is located about 20 km northwest of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area. Near the lake, on Meech Creek, are the ruins of a

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

plant built by Thomas "Carbide" Willson during the 1900s. In 1981, Willson's former summer home (the Willson House) on Meech Lake was converted into a government conference centre. The house is notable for its use, in 1987, as the site of meetings on the Meech Lake Accord (which proposed the overhauling of Canada's constitution) between the provincial premiers and then-Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

. The lake is a multi-use area with picnicking, beach goers, boats, paddle boards, and historic cottages dating to before the park was formed. It is a popular lake for people who like to train in open water swimming. It is also the site of the annual Meech Lake Triathlon. In 1988, a study conducted for the NCC confirmed that Meech Lake residents are responsible for most of the human-produced phosphorus flowing into the lake, i.e., 66%, whereas visitors only account for 26%. Phosphorus, in excessive amounts is responsible for the proliferation of blue-green algae, a problem that has afflicted the lake in recent years."Another crisis afflicts Meech Lake," The Montreal Gazette, July 26, 2007 The National Capital Commission (NCC), steward of Gatineau Park, operates beaches on the lake during the summer. Although it is not condoned by the NCC, there is a secluded beach often used by naturists. Lack of clear signage on the lake that fires are prohibited as well as enforcement is one problem of this highly used area. For example, in the summer of 2016 a fire on one island caused by a picnicker resulted in 25% of the island burning.

References

{{reflist Lakes of Outaouais National Capital Region (Canada) Nude beaches