Pewaukee Lake is a
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
located in
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...
, United States. The largest lake in Waukesha County's "Lake Country", Pewaukee Lake is approximately long and wide, with an average depth of sloping to a maximum depth of .
The lake is known for its inland
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
races. National sailing events take place annually and are often hosted by the Pewaukee Yacht Club located on the southern shore of the lake.
The lake's fish include
bluegill
The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
,
largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...
,
smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...
,
muskellunge
The muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy''), often shortened to muskie, musky, ski, or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.
Origin of name
The name ...
("muskie"),
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
,
tiger muskellunge
The tiger muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy'' × ''lucius'' or ''Esox lucius'' × ''masquinongy''), commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy'') and ...
("tiger muskie"),
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...
,
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...
and non-native
carp
The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...
.
Pewaukee Lake experienced high waters and flooding during the spring and summer of 2008. The floods caused millions of dollars in damages to the surrounding area.
History
Pewaukee Lake has long been a summertime destination for
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
residents. In winter months, ice was often removed from the lake for residents of Milwaukee in the 1800s.
References
External links
Bathymetric map of Pewaukee Lake
*
Lakes of Wisconsin
Lakes of Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Tourist attractions in Waukesha County, Wisconsin
{{WaukeshaCountyWI-geo-stub