Cedar Lake is a lake in
McLeod and
Meeker counties, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
Cedar Lake was named for the red cedar trees near the lake.
Although Cedar Lake is a large lake (1,860 acres) it is also quite shallow lake reaching only 8 feet (2.4 m) deep. The bottom of the lake consists of
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
and
detritus
In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...
and has abundant
curly-leaf pondweed
''Potamogeton crispus'', the crisp-leaved pondweed, curly pondweed, curly-leaf pondweed or curled pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant (hydrophyte) native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America.
De ...
in the spring months before it dies back in July. The lake has a history of
winterkill and there is fish migration from nearby
Belle Lake
Belle Lake is a lake in McLeod County and Meeker County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The lake is in size with a maximum depth of . The southern two-fifths of the lake is in Acoma Township, McLeod County, and the northern three-fifths is i ...
. The lake has abundant
common carp and
black bullhead
The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish (''Ameiurus melas'') is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels ...
s as well as moderate numbers of
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...
and
black crappie.
See also
*
List of lakes in Minnesota
This is a list of lakes of Minnesota. Although promoted as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", Minnesota has 11,842 lakes of or more. The 1968 state survey found 15,291 lake basins, of which 3,257 were dry. If all basins over 2.5 acres were counted, Minn ...
References
Lakes of Minnesota
Lakes of McLeod County, Minnesota
Lakes of Meeker County, Minnesota
{{MeekerCountyMN-geo-stub