Since Oakland Lake intersects the water table, there are many springs feeding it from the bottom and sides. Over the years, erosion and regrading have changed the Lake to one of more gently sloping sides. The lake was acquired for use as a water supply for Flushing, the purpose it served from 1897 to 1933, at which time the pipe was supposedly removed. When the constructed rocky shoreline was found to be a breeding place for rats, the rocks were removed in the 1980s, and an attempt was made to establish a more naturalized look. According to accounts by local residents, steep slopes going right down to the water's edge, springs, sand beaches, and several deep coves were regraded, filled and destroyed when Parks put in the present path around the lake.
Seepages are still detectable where residents reported former springs to be.
During the 1960s, when PS 203 and Queensborough Community College was built, backfill pushed into the Ravine covered the wetland basin below with about 3 feet of material. According to Dr. Andrew Greller, the plant biogeographer from Queens College who has described the plant communities of the region, the best hemlock on Long Island occurs in Oakland Ravine. The soil is Alton Stonyhaven loam brought by glaciers and deposited on underlying basalt. The dam was built of basalt stones, and a large water main was laid through the ravine. Yeaton claims the water main still passes through the length of Oakland Lake, propped up on square concrete stilts.