Everything you should know about Wisconsin lakes from the largest to the deepest
Jim HigginsGlaciation left Wisconsin with many lovely parting gifts: lakes, lakes and more lakes, from the great Michigan and Superior, to a Long Lake or Spring Lake near you.
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about lakes in Wisconsin. In general, numbers and measurements come from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources materials.
How many lakes does Wisconsin have?
The DNR publication "Wisconsin Lakes" reports that this state has 15,074 documented lakes from 1- or 2-acre spring ponds on up. Only about 40% have been named. Most of the unnamed lakes are small, less than 10 acres.
Who has more lakes, Wisconsin or Minnesota?
Minnesota. But answering this question is more complicated than it might appear, concludes reporter Eric Litke in a 2019 Politifact article.
Former Wisconsin tourism secretary Sara Meaney told a radio interviewer that year that her state "absolutely" had more lakes than Minnesota. On the surface, her statement appeared accurate. Our DNR says Wisconsin has 15,074 lakes. The "Land of 10,000 Lakes" actually claims to have 11,842, according to the Minnesota DNR.
But Minnesota defines a lake as a body of water with an area of 10 or more acres. Wisconsin has no such minimum.
In like-to-like comparisons based on sizes, Minnesota has more lakes.
Read all about it in Litke's article.
Which Great Lakes border Wisconsin?
Portions of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan border Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has 407 miles of Lake Michigan coastline.
It has 325 miles of Lake Superior shore frontage, including the 175 miles of Apostle Islands shoreline, according to the National Park Service.
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What is Wisconsin's largest lake?
Lake Winnebago, in Calumet, Fond do Lac and Winnebago counties, has an area of 131,939 acres, according to the DNR. It also has the longest shoreline of any lake completely contained in Wisconsin, described by most sources as 88 miles.
What is Wisconsin's largest manmade lake?
Petenwell Lake, in Adams, Juneau and Wood counties, has an area of 23,173 acres. It was created in 1948 by the Wisconsin River Power Company through construction of a dam across the Wisconsin River near Necedah.
What is Wisconsin's deepest lake?
Green Lake in Green Lake County has a maximum depth of 236 feet, making it Wisconsin's deepest natural lake. Wazee Lake in Jackson County, a manmade lake created from an abandoned iron mine, has a maximum depth of 350 feet.
What is Wisconsin's clearest natural lake?
The website OnlyInYourState.com claims Black Oak Lake in Vilas County is the clearest lake in Wisconsin, "almost too beautiful to be real." It's a claim proudly reiterated by the Black Oak Lake Preservation Foundation. The Wisconsin DNR says this lake's water clarity is "very clear."
What are Madison's lakes?
Lake Mendota (9,781 acres), Lake Monona (3,359 acres), Lake Waubesa (2,074 acres) and Lake Kegonsa (3,200 acres) make up a chain of lakes connected by the Yahara River.
Nearby Lake Wingra (336 acres) is a spring-fed lake that's not part of the Yahara chain.
What's the most common lake name in Wisconsin?
Mud Lake. Wisconsin has 116 of them according to a DNR tally.
Runners-up: Bass Lake, 82; Long Lake, 59; Spring Lake, 45; Lost Lake, 42.
Coincidentally, Mud, Spring, Bass and Long are also among the most common lake names in Minnesota.
Which Wisconsin county has the most lakes? The fewest?
Vilas County has the most lakes, with 1,318, according to the DNR. Brown and Outagamie counties only have four lakes each.
To search a DNR database with information about Wisconsin lakes, visit dnr.wi.gov/lakes/lakepages.
Contact Jim Higgins at jim.higgins@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jhiggy.