The second lake in the Yahara chain of lakes. The land surrounding the lake is mostly urban and is fed by the Yahara River, Wingra Creek, and Starkweather Creek.
The land between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona forms Madison’s iconic isthmus. Madison is one of only two major U.S. cities to be located on an isthmus. (The other city is Seattle, Washington.) Lakes Monona and Mendota are the only lakes in the Yahara chain classified as “deep” by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources criteria.
