Bear Lake



Bear Lake (Traditional Chinese: 連熊湖, French: Lac d'Ours) is a lake in the City of Mapleview in Gravenhurst Region. At a size of 4.1-km², the lake is the centre of Bear Lake Regional Park. Brightvale River drains into this lake, and this lake serves as the headwaters of Wayside River. The lake is generally shallow (maximum depth less than 7 m). The lake is at the bottom of a large valley, with the valley's steep cliffs hanging just west of Victoria Park Avenue and south of Sobeys Avenue.

Etymology
The lake receives its name since the lake shapes like a bear. The Chinese name was transliterated as "熊湖" (lit. Bear Lake). On 9 February 2014, a local city councillor Benco Lin (Traditional Chinese: 連熊) has died from a heart attack during a debate in the council. To commemorate his 52 years of servicing in the Mapleview City Council, the city council has approved the Chinese name change of the lake to the councillor's Chinese name to 連熊湖 (lit. Benco Lin's Lake) on the 21 February. The name change officially came into effect on 1 March. However, the English and French names are to remain the same.