Most of the water for the lake comes from the forested drainage area around it, and from a number of freshwater springs. Because there is no significant agriculture or industry in the watershed, the lake is essentially unpolluted.
The Lake in on the edge of the Canadian Shield and has a mixture of both limestone/marble and granite on or just below the surface. There are pockets of limestone/marble mud around the lake and in the entrance to the outlet creek, Fairs Creek. This mud was probably leftover from the last ice age.
The lake has a maximum depth in the central area of 15.8 metres. Because of the irregular shape of the lake, there is a shoreline of 11.27 kilometres. The elevation above sea level is 200.86 metres. The eastern section of the lake and the southern bays are very shallow, ranging at high water from one to two metres in depth. About half of the shore is bedrock. The eastern end of the lake and the southern bays are wetlands and according to surveys of fish and vegetation done at various times, is pike breeding habitat, as well as habitat for a number of other wetland species. The wetlands and beaver activity have historically served to buffer extreme water level changes, prolonging the period of flow out the outlet late into the summer in normal years before the stream dries up. The shallow areas of the lake have weed growth throughout the year and historic maps show that this is fish habitat for several species. The forest surrounding the Lake is mixed hardwoods with white pines. Most of the shore is natural.
The lake water is slightly alkaline with a pH of 8.3, first recorded in 1969 and confirmed in lake testing in 2007.
Testing in 2005 to 2009 by MVC indicated that the lake has not been invaded by the zebra mussels nor the spiny water flea.