Rend Lake
Encyclopedia
Rend Lake is a 13 miles (20.9 km)-long, 3 miles (4.8 km)-wide southern Illinois reservoir
in Franklin
and Jefferson
Counties near Benton, Illinois
. The lake contains 18,900 acres (76 km²) of water, stores 185000 acre.ft of water, and supplies over 15 million gallons of water per day to 300,000 persons in over 60 communities. The reservoir is up to 35 feet (10.7 m) deep, but its average depth is closer to 9.7 feet (3 m). Its elevation is 405 feet (123.4 m) above sea level.
Rend Lake is a reservoir
, created when the United States Army Corps of Engineers
dammed the Big Muddy River
. The dam and lake were authorized in 1962, but the lake was not completely filled until March 1973.http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/rend/History/HistRL_05.html
The lakeshore of Rend Lake extends covers 162 miles (261 km), part of which is preserved as Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
. Swimming beaches at North Marcum and South Sandusky are managed and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. An adjacent Illinois Artisans Shop & Visitors Center is part of the Illinois State Museum
system and is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
.
In 2010, Rend Lake was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois.
and is home to some of the top ranked fishing
. The Recognized species
in Rend Lake are the following :
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in Franklin
Franklin County, Illinois
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 39,561, which is an increase of 1.4% from 39,018 in 2000. Its county seat is Benton.-History:...
and Jefferson
Jefferson County, Illinois
Jefferson County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,827, which is a decrease of 3.0% from 40,045 in 2000...
Counties near Benton, Illinois
Benton, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.- History :...
. The lake contains 18,900 acres (76 km²) of water, stores 185000 acre.ft of water, and supplies over 15 million gallons of water per day to 300,000 persons in over 60 communities. The reservoir is up to 35 feet (10.7 m) deep, but its average depth is closer to 9.7 feet (3 m). Its elevation is 405 feet (123.4 m) above sea level.
Rend Lake is a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
, created when the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
dammed the Big Muddy River
Big Muddy River
The Big Muddy River is a river in southern Illinois. It joins the Mississippi River south of Murphysboro. The Big Muddy has been dammed near Benton, forming Rend Lake.The Big Muddy has a mud bottom for most of its length.-Hydrography:...
. The dam and lake were authorized in 1962, but the lake was not completely filled until March 1973.http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/rend/History/HistRL_05.html
The lakeshore of Rend Lake extends covers 162 miles (261 km), part of which is preserved as Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
The Wayne Fitzgerell State Recreation Area is a 3,300-acre state park bordering Rend Lake near Benton, Illinois. The state park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to concentrate on shoreline recreation, including boating, fishing, and picnicking.After Rend Lake was...
. Swimming beaches at North Marcum and South Sandusky are managed and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. An adjacent Illinois Artisans Shop & Visitors Center is part of the Illinois State Museum
Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum is the official museum of the natural history of the U.S. state of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, the state capital...
system and is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield...
.
In 2010, Rend Lake was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois.
Fishing
Rend Lake is one of the largest lakes in IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and is home to some of the top ranked fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. The Recognized species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in Rend Lake are the following :
| Species Name | Avg. Weight | Avg. Length |
|---|---|---|
| Largemouth Bass Largemouth bass The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth... |
3-5 Lbs. | 17-22 in |
| Crappie Crappie Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie... |
0.5-1.5 Lbs. | 6-12 in |
| Bluegill Bluegill The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:... |
0.5-1.0 Lbs. | 6-10 in |
| Channel Catfish Channel catfish Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8... |
10-20 Lbs. | 25-35 in |
| Flathead Catfish Flathead catfish The flathead catfish , also called the yellow cat, opelousas, and shovelhead cat, are large North American freshwater catfish. This is the only species of the genus Pylodictis... |
15-30 Lbs. | 30-38 in |
| Blue catfish Blue catfish The blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, is one of the largest species of North American catfish. Blue catfish are distributed primarily in the Mississippi River drainage including the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas rivers... |
15-35 Lbs. | 30-40 in |
| Carp Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain... |
9-19 Lbs. | 20-35 in |
| White bass White bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie... |
2-4 Lbs. | 15-20 in |