Christmas Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Christmas Lake |
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 Christmas Lake
Location in Minnesota
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| Location | Shorewood / Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States |
| Coordinates | 44°53′53″N 93°32′29″W / 44.89806°N 93.54139°W |
| Primary inflows | springs |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 265 acres (1.1 km2) |
| Max. depth | 87 ft (27 m) |
Christmas Lake is a beautiful lake in Minnesota. It gets its water from underground springs. The lake covers about 265 acres. It is located in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, near the towns of Shorewood and Chanhassen.
The lake sits on the border of two counties: Hennepin and Carver. Most of the lake is in Hennepin County. Christmas Lake is famous for its super clear water. It has the clearest water in the Minneapolis area. The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) says you can see about 20 feet down into the water! This is because springs feed the lake and its bottom is sandy.
Even though Christmas Lake is not very big, it gets deep very quickly. Its deepest point is 87 feet. The land around the lake is steep. Many houses are built high above the water. Some even have special carts to get down to their docks.
Christmas Lake is close to the much larger Lake Minnetonka. But the two lakes feel very different. Christmas Lake has fewer powerboats and jet skis. This is slowly changing, though. There is an underground canal that connects Christmas Lake to Lake Minnetonka. This canal can help raise Lake Minnetonka's water level during dry times.
The city of Shorewood, Minnesota manages Christmas Lake. But the people who live around the lake also help take care of it. They have a group called the Christmas Lake Homeowners Association. Neighbors organize a fun boat parade every Fourth of July. Boat owners decorate their boats like floats. Then they parade from dock to dock around the lake.
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Discovering Christmas Lake Wildlife
Christmas Lake is home to many kinds of fish. Some fish are native, meaning they have always lived there. Others were brought in by people. The most common fish are largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, crappie, northern pike, carp, and rainbow trout.
Because the lake is small, most fish do not grow very large. Carp are an exception, as they can get quite big. Some fish from the lake have limits on how much you should eat them. This is due to small amounts of mercury in the fish. This includes bluegill, carp, northern pike, and white sucker.
Trumpeter Swans Visit Christmas Lake
Since 2004, trumpeter swans have been stopping at Christmas Lake. They use it as a resting spot during their winter migration south. At first, only a few swans stayed for a short time. By 2011, over 48 swans were visiting. They stayed on the lake for more than a month.
Christmas Lake is deeper than other nearby lakes. It is also usually the last lake in the area to freeze over. This means the swans can swim and find food later in the season.
Fighting Invasive Zebra Mussels
In the fall of 2014, tiny creatures called zebra mussels were found in Christmas Lake. Zebra mussels are an invasive species. This means they are not native to the lake and can harm the environment. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District took action. They tried an experiment to get rid of them.
They treated about one acre of the lake with special chemicals. First, they used a natural pesticide made from bacteria. Then they used copper, and later potash. Divers checked the area and found no zebra mussels had survived there. However, they found ten more nearby. These were attached to native mussels. So, in May, the treatment was used in that new area too.
The History Behind the Name
Christmas Lake is named after Charles W. Christmas. He was the first county surveyor for Hennepin County. A surveyor measures and maps land. Charles W. Christmas helped map out the first town site of Minneapolis. He did this for John H. Stevens and Franklin Steele.
