Lake Bathymetry describes the water depth for selected reservoirs, lakes, ponds, and coves in Connecticut. It includes depth contours, also called bathymetric contours, that define lines of equal water depth in feet. This information was collected and compiled by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection over a period of time using a variety of different techniques and equipment including manual depth soundings, use of an electronic depth sounder in conjunction with a GPS receiver to locate the boat, and digitizing previously published bathymetry maps. Data is compiled at a variety of scales and resolutions, depending on the collection method used for a particular waterbody. A list of the waterbodies included in this layer can be viewed in the GIS Metadata for Lake Bathymetry. This information was used to publish bathymetric maps in A Fisheries Guide to Lakes and Ponds of Connecticut, Robert P. Jacobs, Eileen B. O'Donnell, and William B. Gerrish, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Bulletin 35, 2002, SBN 0-942085-11-6.
This information was compiled to depict water depth and map the bottom of selected water bodies open to the public for fishing in Connecticut.
Bathymetric information is only included for the 125 waterbodies listed in the GIS Metadata. These data were collected and compiled through a variety of methods and no specific scale is recommended. There are no distribution restrictions, but the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection should be cited on any published maps using this dataset. Due to differences in data capture dates and spatial accuracy, the Lake Bathymetry shoreline and depth contour data may not line up exactly with shoreline features in other hydrography related data from DEP such as Connecticut Hydrography, Connecticut Waterbody, Connecticut Named Waterbody and Connecticut Surface Water Quality Class.