Lake Monona is a freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 drainage

Drainage

Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...

 lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in Dane County, Wisconsin

Dane County, Wisconsin

As of the census of 2000, there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 355 people per square mile . There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile...

 surrounded on three sides by the city of Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

 and on the south side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin

Monona, Wisconsin

Monona is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,046 as of 2007. It is completely surrounded by Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Monona is located at ....

. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes along the Yahara River

Yahara River

The Yahara River is a tributary of the Rock River, about long , in southern Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Rock River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...

 (also including Mendota

Lake Mendota

Lake Mendota is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes near Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east and south, Middleton on the west, Shorewood Hills on the southwest, Maple Bluff on the northeast, and Westport on the northwest....

, Kegonsa, and Waubesa

Lake Waubesa

Lake Waubesa is one of the four lakes in Madison, Wisconsin. The lake has a surface area of slightly over ....

) in the area and forms the south shore of the isthmus

Isthmus

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...

 that forms downtown Madison. The name 'Monona' is a Chippewa word believed to mean 'beautiful', although the lake was originally named by the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)

Ho-Chunk

The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....

 'Tchee-ho-bo-kee-xa-te-la' or 'Teepee Lake'.

Lake Monona rests at 43°4′9"N 89°21′34"W.