Lake Winnipesaukee Facts
- Means "beautiful water in high place". A second interpetation from Indian folklore is "The smile of the great spirit"
- 6 mapped shipwrecks
- 55,685 acres of water, 240 miles of shoreline
- 625 billion gallons of water
- 270 islands, largest is 750 acres
- Elevation 504 feet above sea level
- Deepest point is 187 feet
- Average depth is 43 feet
- Clarity in Wolfeboro Bay is 25 feet (Sechi disc transparency)
- Freezes over is between late December and early January
Ice Out Dates [Winnipesaukee] Official ice out is declared when the M/S Mount Washington can reach all 4 of its ports without touching ice. This usually occurs during April. The earliest recorded ice out was March 28th, 1921 and the latest was May 12th, 1888.
Winnipesaukee, Lake (WI-ni-puh-SAW-kee) ( 78 sq mi/202 sq km), on line bet. Carroll and Belknap cos., E central N.H. Largest lake in the state. Irregular in shape, with many arms of significance, Moultonborough Bay (NE), 10 mi/16 km long; Paugus Bay and Opeche Bay (SW), and Alton Bay (SE). It has 283 mi/455 km of shoreline and many small isls. Winnipesaukee R., central N.H., exits from Opeche Bay of L. Winnipesaukee at Laconia, Belknap co., flows 1 mi/1.6 km SW into Winnisquam L., continues SW through Tilton L. and Silver L., past Tilton, joins Pemigewasset R. at Franklin to form Merrimack R. (15 mi/24 km long). Resort area.
Coldwater Species
- Brook Trout
- Rainbow Trout
- Brown Trout
- Landlocked Salmon
- Lake Trout
- Whitefish
Warmwater Species
- Smallmouth Bass
- Largemouth Bass
- Pickerel
- Horned Pout
- White Perch
- Northern Pike
- Walleye
- Black Crappie
- Bluegill
- Yellow Perch