Here is a Fact I Bet You Didn’t Know About the Lakes in Iowa

Iowa has lakes, yes we do! As many as Minnesota? Well no, not even close. Do we have nearly as many as even Wisconsin? Well, no we do not. They actually have as many as Minnesota, fun fact. But there are lakes in the Hawkeye state. In fact, according to the website How Many Are There, there are actually over 65 lakes in Iowa. Of those 65, most have a dirty little secret... cue ominous music...

Ooh, nice.

65% of Iowas (over) 65 lakes have a little secret

So above as a tease I said "dirty" little secret. No, they're not dirty lakes. Not that at all. But 65% of Iowa's lakes do share one interesting fact, they're man-made and not naturally occurring lakes. Dun dun dunnnn!

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According to a Radio Iowa story, Iowa's man-made lakes dominate the Iowa lake landscape. So where are these constructed lakes? All over. in fact, Iowa's 34 natural lakes are out in the northwest portion of the state. Of our natural lakes in Iowa, the deepest are part of the lake system known as the Iowa Great Lakes. These surround the town of Okoboji. And yes, Lake Okoboji is a part of this chain of lakes.

Closer to home in Eastern Iowa, the bets known lake is a man-made one. The Coralville Dam which sits on the Iowa River between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City created the popular destination Coralville Lake. This was completed in 1958 and is now a tourist attraction and summer getaway for many in Eastern Iowa.

Iowa's largest man-made lakes

The largest man made lakes in the state of Iowa are:

• Rathbun Lake (84.98 square km)
• Saylorville Lake (24 square km)
• Lost Grove Lake (6.87 square km)