Lake Isom is a small natural

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in

Lake County, Tennessee Lake County is a county located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,005, making it the fifth-least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Tiptonville. It shares a border ...

immediately south of

Reelfoot Lake Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee, in Lake and Obion Counties. Much of it is swamp-like, with bayou-like ditches (some natural, some man-made) connecting more open bodies of wate ...

. It is fed by Running Reelfoot Bayou, the outlet stream of Reelfoot Lake. Like Reelfoot, it was formed in the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes and it is very shallow and swampy. The entire lake and its environs, covering 1,846 acres (747 ha) comprise the Lake Isom National Wildlife Refuge and have been such since 1938. Lake Isom has suffered from considerable

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 ...

ation in the past, making it even shallower and swampier than it already was. Improved agricultural practices in the area are slowing this development, however. Due to the long-term federal ownership and its smaller size, Lake Isom is almost entirely undeveloped and is not surrounded with parks, restaurants, and hunting and fishing camps as is Reelfoot. Motors on boats on the lake are also limited to 10 horsepower.

References

Refuge website
1938 establishments in Tennessee Protected areas of Lake County, Tennessee National Wildlife Refuges in Tennessee Isom Wetlands of Tennessee Isom {{Tennessee-protected-area-stub