Lake Surprise (Watchung Reservation, New Jersey)

For Lake Surprise in Victoria, Australia, see Budj Bim.

Lake Surprise
Lake Surprise Show map of New Jersey Lake Surprise Show map of the United States
Location	Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Mountainside, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates	40°41′07″N74°22′45″W / 40.68528°N 74.37917°W / 40.68528; -74.37917
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Blue Brook
Primary outflows	Blue Brook
Basin  countries	United States
Surface elevation	269 ft (82 m)

Lake Surprise ^[1] is a reservoir made by Surprise Lake Dam ^[2] on the Blue Brook in Watchung Reservation. On the border of Berkeley Heights and Mountainside in Union County, New Jersey, the lake was created in 1845 ^[3] for David Felt's papermill. ^[4]

The lake was previously known as Feltville Lake, then renamed Ackerman Lake, and renamed again as Silver Lake. The Union County Park Commission bought the property for inclusion in the Watchung Reservation^{[ when? ]} and named it Lake Surprise, due to the winding road park planners paved, on which a visitor's view of the lake is obscured until the visitor is right next to the lake.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lake Surprise Boat Launch

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Surprise (Watchung Reservation, New Jersey)
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Surprise (Watchung Reservation, New Jersey)
3. The County of Union, State of New Jersey, Department of Parks and Community Renewal, "Watchung Reservation History Trail", Retrieved 2012-01-22
4. Pepper, A. (1965). Tours of Historic New Jersey. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.: Princeton. 41.