Shoreline development index

Lakes in Saskatchewan with varying shoreline development indices (islands included): Peter Pond - 1.5, Churchill - 4.1, Ile a la Crosse - 8.2

The shoreline development index of a lake is the ratio of the length of the lake's shoreline to the circumference of a circle with the same area as the lake.^[1] It is given in equation form as ${\textstyle D_{L}={\frac {L}{2{\sqrt {\pi A}}}}}$ , where ${\textstyle D_{L}}$ is shoreline development, $L$ is the length of the lake's shoreline, and $A$ is the lake's area. The index can also include the length of island shoreline, modifying the formula to ${\textstyle D_{L+L_{i}}={\frac {L+L_{i}}{2{\sqrt {\pi A}}}}}$ , where $L_{i}$ is the combined length of the lake's islands' shoreline.^[2] Shoreline development correlates strongly with lake area.^[3]

^ Aronow S. (1982) Shoreline development ratio. In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_417
^ Rawson, D. (1960). A Limnological Comparison of Twelve Large Lakes in Northern Saskatchewan. Limnology and Oceanography, 5(2), 195-211. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2832556
^ Koshinsky, G. (1970). The Morphometry of Shield Lakes in Saskatchewan. Limnology and Oceanography, 15(5), 695-701. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/stable/2834006

[1] Aronow S. (1982) Shoreline development ratio. In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_417

[2] Rawson, D. (1960). A Limnological Comparison of Twelve Large Lakes in Northern Saskatchewan. Limnology and Oceanography, 5(2), 195-211. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2832556

[3] Koshinsky, G. (1970). The Morphometry of Shield Lakes in Saskatchewan. Limnology and Oceanography, 15(5), 695-701. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/stable/2834006

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