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'Lake Winnebago' is a large freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin. It is the third largest natural freshwater lake completely within a U.S. state (behind Lake Okeechobee (Florida) and Red Lake (Minnesota))respectively. ^[1]

Contents

Statistics

History

Locks and dams

Recreation

Pleasure Boating

Parks

Fishing

Ice fishing

Fishing in other seasons

Ferry

References

External links

Statistics

It is about 30 by 10 miles (50 by 16 km), and has a surface area of 137,708 acres (557 km²). It has 88 miles of shoreline. It is the largest lake completely within Wisconsin. It has an average depth of 15.5 feet (4.7 m) and a maximum depth of 21 feet (6.4 m).
The lake is characterized by having many shallow reefs along the west shore, and a drop-off type shoreline on the east. There are several islands along the west shore.
Lake Winnebago has two primary tributaries, the Wolf River and the Fox River. It is drained by the Fox River which flows north towards the Bay of Green Bay. Lake Winnebago is part of a larger system of lakes in Wisconsin known as the Winnebago Pool.
Cities on its shores include Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Neenah and Menasha. Cities that draw their drinking water directly from Lake Winnebago include Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha and Appleton.

History

The lake is a remnant of Glacial Lake Oshkosh approximately 12,000 years ago. ^[2] Ice blocked water from entering Lake Michigan at Green Bay, and the glacial lake ponded against ice since it had no outlet.
The Niagara Escarpment is a few miles east of Lake Winnebago. The softer Ordovician rocks that under lie the lake have eroded away, and the stronger Silurian rocks stand as a ridge that formed the lake basin. ^[3]

Locks and dams

Lake Winnebago is not man-made, but its level was raised by two dams erected in 1850. The lake level is today regulated by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
There is a system of seventeen locks that connect Lake Winnebago to Lake Michigan. This lock system is located along the lower Fox River and starts at the North West corner of Lake Winnebago in the city of Menasha and ends at the mouth of the bay of Green Bay.

Recreation

Many annual events take place on the Lake Winnebago Pool, including concerts, power boat events and pleasure boating rallies.

Pleasure Boating

Along with the Upper lakes of Butte des Morts, Winneconne, Poygan, the Wolf River and the upper and lower Fox River it is a popular pleasure boating area.

Parks

Lake Winnebago has a variety of state, county and city parks. High Cliff State Park is the only state park on Lake Winnebago. The park is in the North East corner of Lake Winnebago. The park offers camping, hiking trails, beautiful views of Lake Winnebago, a marina, beach, observation tower and picnic areas. Camping is available at Calumet County Park and Columbia County Park (Fond du Lac County). Visitors can see effigy mounds which overlook the lake at High Cliff and Calumet County Park.

Fishing

It is one of the more heavily fished lakes in the state. Many fisherman consider it one of the nation's top walleye fisheries. Other species present include Bluegill, Largemouth bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Perch, Burbot, White bass, Freshwater drum, and Smallmouth bass.

Ice fishing

It is not uncommon for 10,000 cars to park on Lake Winnebago during the ice fishing season. Expansion cracks on the ice are bridged. Many cities along east and west shores plow roads on the icy surface. Ice fishing is dominated by sauger and walleye, with rare perch and white bass catches.
The lake had the United States' largest population of sturgeon in 2003, which are speared during a February season. The first season of regulated sturgeon spearing was in 1903, when an 8 pound limit was introduced. All sturgeon spearing was banned from 1915 until 1931. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regulates the number of fish taken each year.

Fishing in other seasons

Early spring (between May 5 and June 30) is dominated by walleye and sauger fishing. Sauger,(also known as sand pike, bite the best in cooler water. June fishing has white bass, July has perch. Fishing declines in fall.

Ferry

The steamer B. F. Carter made a trip from the east shore to the west shore at Oshkosh every two weeks in the 1880s during the summer season. ^[4]

References

1. Lake Winnebago History; Retrieved June 21 2007
2. Lake Oshkosh Drainage; Steven Dutch; Natural and Applied Sciences; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Last updated April 29 2005; Retrieved January 14 2007
3. The Niagara Escarpment; Steven Dutch; Natural and Applied Sciences; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Last updated June 18 1999; Retrieved January 14 2007
4.

External links

★ Current lake data from the United States Army Corps of Engineers

★ Fishing maps and data from Lake-Link.com

★ Glacial Lake Oshkosh

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