Madison lakes’ most wanted

Madison is framed, and often defined by, its lakes.
Whether it means gazing across the 9.842 acres of Lake Mendota from the Union Terrace, fishing in Lake Monona from the bike path or swimming in Lake Wingra, the lakes make the city a unique confluence of water and land. As a city built on an isthmus, Madison’s lakes, as part of the Yahara Lake chain, can be, simultaneously, a wonder to behold and a threat to its health.
John Magnuson, professor emeritus of zoology, has an office in the limnology laboratory overlooking Lake Mendota. He sees the lakes as a source of the city’s allure and their condition as a consequence of that allure.