If you want to get information about a lake, you can go the the Department of Natural Resources website and search for the lake finder. Or click on the title of this entry and you should go right there. You can get all kinds of information about a lake on this website such as lake maps, lake water levels, fish consumption advisory, lake water quality, lake water clarity, lake water clarity by satellite, recreation compass and topographic maps. Take a lake and type it in along with the county and voila! Here is information about a lake you may know - Block Lake in Ottertail County. I learned that this lake is considered to be in a northern hardwood forest. Block Lake empties into the Minnesota River. That surprised me a little because I would have guessed the Mississippi or Red River. Block Lake is considered to be an mesotrophic lake. The choices for water quality are oligotrophic (pristine, clear water), mesotrophic
(healthy clean lake), eutrophic (green water during the dog days of August) and hypereutrophic (on the verge of turning into a wetland). Water clarity is measured with a secchi disk (bright shiny metal disk) lowered into the water and measuring how far it goes before it cannot be seen anymore. All the data for Block Lake is in the website. The secchi disk can go down 2 meters in April but less than a meter in August. Water quality is 2005 was much better than the years previous and after. The lake is 263 acres in size and the deepest point is 23 feet. The shoreline is 3 miles long. The website says "Some emergent aquatic plants such as hardstem bulrush and cattail are prevalent at various locations around the lake. These emergent plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms from erosion and can actually absorb and breakdown polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning habitat for fish species like northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish." A fish sample completed in 2001 tells us that the most numerous fish was the yellow perch followed by the bullhead, walleye, black crappie, northern pike, pumpkinseed sunfish and blue gill. The average northern weighed 2.74 pounds and the average walleye weighed 1.77 pounds. In 2005 132,000 walleye fry were stocked. Have fun looking up your favorite lake.
(healthy clean lake), eutrophic (green water during the dog days of August) and hypereutrophic (on the verge of turning into a wetland). Water clarity is measured with a secchi disk (bright shiny metal disk) lowered into the water and measuring how far it goes before it cannot be seen anymore. All the data for Block Lake is in the website. The secchi disk can go down 2 meters in April but less than a meter in August. Water quality is 2005 was much better than the years previous and after. The lake is 263 acres in size and the deepest point is 23 feet. The shoreline is 3 miles long. The website says "Some emergent aquatic plants such as hardstem bulrush and cattail are prevalent at various locations around the lake. These emergent plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms from erosion and can actually absorb and breakdown polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning habitat for fish species like northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish." A fish sample completed in 2001 tells us that the most numerous fish was the yellow perch followed by the bullhead, walleye, black crappie, northern pike, pumpkinseed sunfish and blue gill. The average northern weighed 2.74 pounds and the average walleye weighed 1.77 pounds. In 2005 132,000 walleye fry were stocked. Have fun looking up your favorite lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment