Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago
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Lake Winnebago

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Lake Winnebago

Lake Winnebago (Menominee: Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, Ojibwe: Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, Oneida: kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres (55,700 ha), it is the largest lake entirely within the state, covering an area of about 30 miles (48 km) by 10 miles (16 km) with 88 miles (142 km) of shoreline, an average depth of 15.5 feet (4.7 m), and a maximum depth of 21 feet (6.4 m). It has many shallow reefs along the west shore and a drop-off type shoreline on the east. There are several islands along the west shore.

The lake has two primary tributaries, the Wolf and Fox Rivers, which combine at Lake Butte des Morts. The Fox River flows east through Oshkosh and into Lake Winnebago at its west central shore, then flows out at the northwest shore, around Doty Island at Neenah-Menasha to Little Lake Butte des Morts. The river then flows northeast and empties into Green Bay and serves as part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. Lake Winnebago is part of a larger system of lakes in Wisconsin known as the Winnebago Pool.

Cities on its shores include the aforementioned Oshkosh, Neenah, and Menasha, as well as Fond du Lac at the south shore. Municipal drinking water systems serving over 200,000 people draw directly from the lake, including systems serving the cities of Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, and Appleton.

The lake is a remnant of Glacial Lake Oshkosh approximately 12,000 years ago. 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 underlie the lake have eroded away, and the stronger Silurian rocks stand as a ridge that formed the lake basin.

In 1634, the French encountered the Ho-Chunk on the shores of Green Bay, inhabiting the area stretching to Lake Winnebago. Although "Ho-Chunk" is the people's own name for themselves, their Algonquian neighbors called them "Winnebago", which means "[people of the] stinking water." This term was used by the Algonquians because Lake Winnebago had a strong fish odor in the summer.

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.

Lake Winnebago is known for having occasional ice shoves on very windy days in March as the winter ice breaks up. Residents have described that it "sounds like a freight train." Buildings directly on the shoreline have been wrecked by the shoves, which are up to 25 feet (7.6 m) high.

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