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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Muskrat Lake

lake in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada (lat 45.67, lon -76.91)

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ6942838
Source-derived summary

Muskrat Lake is located in the Whitewater Region of Renfrew County, in Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) in length, an average of 17.9 m (59 ft) deep but 64 m (210 ft) at its deepest point, and covers an area of 1,219 ha (3,010 acres). It is rumored to be home to a legendary lake monster that locals fondly refer to as “Mussie”. The lake currently has over 300 lakefront properties and two privately owned campgrounds surrounding its shores. The town of Cobden is the largest settlement on the lake, with a population slightly over 1,000 people.

Geology

Like many other lakes in the Ottawa Valley, Muskrat Lake was formed roughly 10,000 years ago when the glaciers of the last ice age receded. At that point it was part of the much larger Champlain Sea. About 6,000 years ago, water levels dropped and the Champlain Sea receded, leaving behind what we know presently as Muskrat Lake and its surrounding tributaries.

Three major tributaries contribute to the inflow of water into Muskrat Lake. These include the Muskrat River and Buttermilk Creek from the east and the Snake River from the south.

Editorial summary

“Muskrat Lake” enters the record as lake in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada (lat 45.67, lon -76.91). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Muskrat, Lake and lake can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current 194-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Muskrat, Lake and lake.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Muskrat Lake” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Muskrat, Lake and lake provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6942838. Authority coordinates are 45.678, -76.908. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Muskrat Lake”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Muskrat Lake primary sources, Muskrat Lake archive and Muskrat research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Muskrat Lake”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Muskrat Lake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.