Subsurface drainage of the surrounding area into the lake is minimal, due to the non-permeable nature of the perpetually frozen soil and underlying rock layers.

The topography rises steeply to the west, southwest, and northeast of the lake, to outcropped highlands, while the rocky uplifted lowland in the southeast leads to Creswell Bay, and the thermokarst terrain surrounding the Stanwell-Fletcher River in the northwest has a more gradual slope.

The lakebed slopes steeply down to this trough in the western part of the lake, while shallower shelves exist in the southwest and east.

[8] The harsh tundral climate and minimal soil cover of the highlands surrounding the lake allows only a few types of plants to grow there, mostly lichens, mosses, and arctic willow.

Other birds with populations in the area include the snow goose, king eider, long-tailed duck, northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, and peregrine falcon.

[13] Although the coastline of Somerset Island had been mapped by several European expeditions in the 19th century, inland areas were not extensively explored during that time period.

The island was more intensively mapped by aerial surveys carried out by the RCAF in 1950, which likely revealed the large inland lake.