by WisCartography

Mead Lake

About this Map

This carefully drawn, artful map of Mead Lake captures an unusually complex flowage whose broad western and eastern basins are connected by a narrower central passage. Detailed bathymetric contours reveal an irregular underwater landscape of channels, submerged ridges, shallow shelves, holes, and numerous changes in lake-bottom relief. The western basin contains some of the deeper water, reaching approximately 17 feet, while extensive shallow areas characterize much of the eastern portion. Islands, narrow points, twisting bays, and flooded channels give this 310-acre Clark County lake an especially intricate geography.

Mead Lake is surrounded largely by forest and wetlands, with shoreline homes concentrated along several roads and projecting peninsulas. Boat ramps are shown on both the northern shore and near the central narrows, providing access to different portions of the lake. The eastern end becomes particularly complex, breaking into a maze of small islands, channels, wetlands, and shallow water.

The South Fork Eau Claire River is a defining feature of the map, entering Mead Lake from the east through this intricate landscape of shallow channels, islands, and wetlands before flowing westward through the lake and exiting at the dam on the western end. Smaller streams and extensive wetlands feed into the lake from the surrounding forest, while relatively sparse development away from the shoreline preserves a distinctly rural character. Together, the river corridor, varied bathymetry, islands, wetlands, wooded surroundings, and shoreline community make this map a particularly rich portrait of Mead Lake as part of the larger South Fork Eau Claire River landscape.