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:''This article discusses the geographic region. For the municipality of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, see its article.''
The 'Kawartha lakes' are a band of lakes in south-central Ontario, Canada. They generally include the lakes north of Lake Ontario and east of Lake Simcoe, about as far as Belleville.
"Kawartha" is an anglicization of a the word "Ka-wa-tha" (from "Ka-wa-tae-gum-maug" or ''Gaa-waategamaag''), which was obtained during the 1950s by representatives of the Village of Bobcaygeon from the Elders at Curve Lake.^[1] It was hoped that the word ''Gaa-waategamaag'', which means "shining waters" in the Anishinaabe language, would provide a convenient and popular advertising label for the area, much as "Muskoka" had come to describe the area and lakes north of Gravenhurst.
Though the city of Kawartha Lakes is named for them, they continue east into Peterborough County and some ways beyond. The Trent-Severn Waterway makes its way through many lakes in the main chain; many cottages dot the lakes' shorelines some of which are quite large in size, and the region is most known for its recreational tourism.

Lakes considered to be among 'The Kawarthas' include:

★ Balsam Lake (C)

★ Cameron Lake (E)

★ Sturgeon Lake (F)

★ Pigeon Lake (G)

★ Buckhorn Lake (H)

★ Chemong Lake (J)

★ Stony Lake (L)

★ Clear Lake (M)

★ White/Dummer Lake

★ Katchewanooka Lake (N)

★ Rice Lake (R)

★ Salerno Lake
Lake Scugog is to the southwest of the main chain; the system of Catchacoma Lake, Beaver Lake, Mississauga Lake, Gold Lake and Anstruther Lake are to the northeast. These lakes are not always defined as the 'Kawartha Lakes' however they do lie within the "Kawartha Highlands" to the north.
Footnotes:
^[1]See Minutes of the Corporation of the Village of Bobcaygeon,1928-1958