Ontario Lake Depths
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Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond)

Norfolk County, Ontario · MNRF bathymetric survey
1.5m Mapped depth
5 ft
18 ha 2 contours
Paddling Index70GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) is mapped to a depth of 1.5 m (5 ft) on the Ontario MNRF survey and covers about 18 ha (45 acres) in Norfolk County, Ontario. Depths come from the Ontario MNRF survey of 1972.

Measured from the Ontario MNRF bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour
1.5 m (5 ft)
Survey year
1972
Surface area
18 ha (45 acres)
Shoreline
1.9 km (1.2 mi) · lobed
Fishing access
No MNRF fishing access point listed within 100 m (the list is incomplete)
Additional depth details2 contours
Contour depths
0–1.5 m (5 ft)
Deep-spot markers
1.5 m (5 ft)
Compare with another lake
Location
Norfolk County, Ontario · all 7 lakes · tap a dot for that lake
Chart data

Provenance

Sources: Ontario MNRF / LIO Bathymetry, OpenStreetMap (ODbL), Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (Sentinel-2), processed by ontariolakedepths.com, Copernicus DEM 30 m (© DLR/Airbus).

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Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over Copernicus DEM (30 m) elevation, with a Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates
42.93243, -80.31010
MNRF lake ID
17-5564-47533
Vertical exaggeration
3.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap
Copernicus Sentinel-2 · ESA, via Microsoft Planetary Computer
Model size
0.4 MB

Check the source: this lake’s record (17-5564-47533) in the Ontario MNRF bathymetry index, and the contour line layer the map is drawn from (Land Information Ontario open data, Open Government Licence – Ontario). Survey year: 1972. This model was built 2026-09-15. Depths between contours are interpolated, not measured.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-16
70 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) has a partly natural setting, well sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingGood23.4 of 4358% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (4% forest, 38% wetland; 17% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent35.7 of 36mean fetch 451 m · 72% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Motor & speed rulesNot modelled—Canada publishes vessel motor and speed restrictions as federal legal schedules, not map data, so they are not part of the Ontario index. Check local signage and Transport Canada rules before going out.
Public accessNot listed—No publicly listed MNRF fishing access point within 100 m of this shoreline. Municipal, private and informal launches are not all in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolationGood10.6 of 21some nearby classified roads · 150 Ontario Road Network segments within 1.2 km (traffic estimated from road class, not measured)

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity
Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Observed motorized activity
Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential
Moderate — 4% forest and 38% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Mapped wildlife habitat
None mapped — Ontario MNRF has not mapped moose, deer or waterfowl habitat within 1 km of this lake. The province maps these areas where it has surveyed, so this is not evidence that wildlife is absent. · Ontario MNRF Wildlife Values Area. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public land-cover, access and road-network data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights for Ontario lakes: natural setting 35%, geometric wind exposure 29%, public access 18%, road isolation 18%. Motor and speed restrictions are not modelled for Ontario, and road traffic is estimated from road class, not measured. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Ontario scores are relative to other Ontario lakes and are not directly comparable with Paddling Index scores on our sister sites, which use different data sources and include a watercraft-rules component. Sources: Ontario MNRF bathymetry outline (0 m contour or survey index polygon), Ontario Land Cover v1.0, Ontario MNRF (Open Government Licence – Ontario) (2020) and Ontario Road Network (Open Government Licence – Ontario); traffic estimated by road class, not measured (2026-09). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Angler catch reports

Fish ON-Line · 2013–2026

What anglers say they caught here, logged trip by trip in Ontario’s Fish ON-Line app — most recently in June 2026.

16Trips logged
14Species
288Fish reported

Pictures are sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

All species & trip details14 species
Bluegill8 of 16 trips · 110 caught
Largemouth Bass8 of 16 trips · 23 caught
Yellow Perch7 of 16 trips · 19 caught
Black Crappie6 of 16 trips · 54 caught
Pumpkinseed4 of 16 trips · 25 caught
Smallmouth Bass4 of 16 trips · 23 caught
Mooneye1 trip · one angler’s report · 17 caught
Burbot1 trip · one angler’s report · 7 caught
Aurora Trout1 trip · one angler’s report · 3 caught
Chinook Salmon1 trip · one angler’s report · 2 caught
Northern Pike1 trip · one angler’s report · 2 caught
Brown Bullhead1 trip · one angler’s report · 1 caught
Coho Salmon1 trip · one angler’s report · 1 caught
Common Carp1 trip · one angler’s report · 1 caught

How people fish it: shore 69% · boat 19% · ice 12%
Catch rate: about 5.0 fish an hour, all species together (16 trips, 58 hours logged)
Kept: 9% of the fish reported; the rest were released

Trips are logged voluntarily by anglers in Ontario’s Fish ON-Line app. This is what people report catching, not a Ministry survey, and a species nobody has logged may still be here. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Source: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Fish ON-Line. A logged catch does not mean it is legal to catch or keep: check the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary for this lake’s zone and exceptions.
Quick answers

Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) — common questions

How deep is Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond)?

The deepest contour on the Ontario MNRF bathymetric survey of Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) is 1.5 m (5 ft). That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond)?

Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) covers about 18 ha (45 acres) in Norfolk County, Ontario.

Is there public access to Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond)?

No fishing access point for Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond) appears in the Ontario MNRF fishing access point list (within 100 m of the shoreline). That is not the same as the lake being private -- the MNRF list is incomplete, and many municipal, marina and private launches are not in it.