Cassels Lake is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 located within the Municipality of Temagami

Temagami, Ontario

Temagami, formerly spelt as Timagami, is a region and a municipality in northeastern Ontario, Canada, in the District of Nipissing with Lake Temagami at its heart....

, in the Nipissing District, Ontario

Nipissing District, Ontario

Nipissing District, Ontario is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay.In 2006, the population was 84,688...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It contains numerous portage

Portage

Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...

s, campsite

Campsite

A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...

s and is one of three lakes on the eastern edge of the White Bear Forest

White Bear Forest

The White Bear Forest is an old growth forest, located in Temagami, Ontario, Canada. The forest is named after Chief White Bear, who was the last chief of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai before Europeans appeared in the region...

.

In the 1920s a log dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 was constructed at the narrows connecting Cassels Lake and Rabbit Lake

Rabbit Lake (Ontario)

Rabbit Lake is a lake in the Temagami region of Northeastern Ontario, Canada, and lies within the townships of Askin, Riddell, and Eldridge. The lake is the largest and southern most in a chain of lakes including Cassels Lake, Snake Island Lake, and Obashkong Lake...

 to float logs from the surrounding area out to the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

. The water level in numerous lakes close to Temagami was increased numerous feet. The Gillies' Bros. logging

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 company then cut the trees from the land and the flooded forest area leaving behind the snag

Snag

In forest ecology, a snag refers to a standing, partly or completely dead tree, often missing a top or most of the smaller branches. In freshwater ecology it refers to trees, branches, and other pieces of naturally occurring wood found sunken in rivers and streams; it is also known as coarse woody...

s and stumps seen in the water. The old growth white pine

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...

 and red pine

Red Pine

Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...

 immediately south of the mill was never cut and remains today as the 400 year old White Bear Forest

White Bear Forest

The White Bear Forest is an old growth forest, located in Temagami, Ontario, Canada. The forest is named after Chief White Bear, who was the last chief of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai before Europeans appeared in the region...

. According to local folklore, this stand wasn't cut because the wife of the mill manager wanted to look out of her home on the majestic pine forest, and so forbid him from cutting there.

The White Bear Forest on the south side of the lake, opposite the former mill, is now a conservation reserve

Conservation reserve

A conservation reserve is a protected area set aside for conservation purposes.-United States:In the United States the Conservation Reserve Program offers annual payments for 10-15 year contracts to participants who establish grass, shrub and tree cover on environmentally sensitive lands...

. The reserve has a system of hiking trails, which provide visitors with a great opportunity to experience the old growth pine forest.