Geneva Lake (Potawatomi: Kishwauketoe 'Clear Water')[2] is a body of freshwater in Walworth County in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.[3] On its shores are the city of Lake Geneva, and the villages of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, and Williams Bay. The lake is known as the only place in the world where mail jumping is practiced, an unusual mail delivery system maintained as a local tradition. The lake covers an area of approximately 5,401 acres (2,186 ha; 8.439 sq mi; 21.86 km²),[3] with a maximum length of 7.7 miles (12.4 km),[3] a mean depth of 61 feet (19 m),[3] and a maximum depth of 135 feet (41 m).[3] Geologists believe that it is a filled-in kettle formed from a receding glacier.^{[citation needed]}

Geneva Lake
Geneva Lake Show map of Wisconsin Geneva Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States
Coordinates	42°33′54.04″N 88°30′13.50″W[1]
Primary outflows	White River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	12 km (7.7 mi)
Max. width	3.2 km (2 mi)
Surface area	5,401 acres (2,186 ha; 8.439 sq mi; 21.86 km2)
Average depth	61 feet (19 m)
Max. depth	135 feet (41 m)
Settlements	Lake Geneva, Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, Williams Bay

Lakeshore

The lake was home to a band of Prairie Potawatomi prior to the lake's settlement by colonial settlers. During the first three decades of the 19th century, the band was led by Big Foot.^{[citation needed]}

The original colonial settlers on Geneva Lake referred to it as Big Foot Lake.[4]

In the 1830s, a government surveyor named John Brink renamed the lake and the town on it for Geneva, New York, a town located on Seneca Lake, which he thought they resembled.[5] To avoid confusion with the nearby town of Geneva, Illinois, the city was renamed Lake Geneva; later^[when?] the lake was renamed Geneva Lake.^{[citation needed]}

Lakeshore attractions include Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva Yacht Club, the George Williams College campus of Aurora University, and Yerkes Observatory. The observatory is no longer owned by the University of Chicago, which transferred ownership of it to the non-profit Yerkes Future Foundation (YFF) in May 2020.[6]

Public access to the lake is allowed as the result of a decision by early European settlers that "20 feet [6 meters] of land leading up to the shoreline should be public domain".[7][8][9]

A shorepath, which is open to the public, completely surrounds the lake.[7][8][9] Between 21 and 26 miles (34 and 42 km) long,[8][9][7] it follows the route taken by Potawatomi Indians.[7] The path crosses the estates of the Schwinns, Swifts, Wackers, and Wrigleys.[7]

• 
  Geneva Lake Shorepath sign
• 
  Yacht Racing On Lake Geneva, postcard
• 
  Olivet Camp, postcard

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geneva Lake.

• Geneva Lake West Chamber of Commerce
• "Hydrology and Water Quality of Geneva Lake, Walworth County, Wisconsin" (PDF). (2.0 MB), report by USGS with history and environmental info.
• My Rambles in The Enchanted Summer Land, 1881

На других языках

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[fr] Geneva Lake