Rend Lake

Rend Lake is a 13 miles (20.9 km)-long, 3 miles (4.8 km)-wide reservoir located in Southern Illinois in Franklin and Jefferson Counties near the town of Benton. It contains 18,900 acres (76 km²) of water, stores 185,000 acre feet (228,000,000 m³) 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 (3.0 m). Its elevation is 405 feet (123.4 m) above sea level.

View of Rend Lake. Photo taken from the Eastern side, near Loch Ness citing.

Rend Lake
Rend Lake
Location	Franklin / Jefferson counties, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates	38°2′12.18″N 88°58′0.25″W
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Big Muddy River Casey Creek
Primary outflows	Big Muddy River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	13 miles (20.9 km)
Max. width	3 miles (4.8 km)
Surface area	18,900 acres (76.5 km2)[1]
Average depth	10 feet (3.0 m)[1]
Max. depth	35 feet (10.7 m)
Shore length1	162 miles (260.7 km)[1]
Surface elevation	405 feet (123.4 m)
Settlements	Benton, Illinois Sesser, Illinois
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Rend Lake was 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.

The shoreline of Rend Lake extends 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 (this facility is currently closed due to the lack of funding from the state).

In 2010, Rend Lake was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois.[2]

View of spillway at Rend Lake, taken from the Eastern side.