Silver Lake (Kingsbury County, South Dakota)

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Silver Lake
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Silver Lake
Location Kingsbury County, South Dakota
Coordinates 44°22′54″N97°31′18.1″W / 44.38167°N 97.521694°W / 44.38167; -97.521694
Type Reclaimed glacial lake
Part of Madison Wetland Management District
Basin  countriesUnited States
Surface area45 acres (18 ha)
Surface elevation1,693 feet (516 m)
Settlements De Smet, South Dakota
Location
Silver Lake (Kingsbury County, South Dakota)

Silver Lake is a glacial lake, later a reclaimed lake, located immediately east of De Smet, on the north side of U.S. Highway 14. Big Slough is a marsh at the southwest end of the lake. [1]

Contents

History

Silver Lake and Big Slough were written about extensively by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her novel By the Shores of Silver Lake . Caroline Ingalls named the lake for the silvery appearance of its surface. [2] [3] The Ingalls home (currently, a museum) and Surveyor's House are very close to it. The lake is a "prairie pothole," a depression in which rain and snow-melt collect without any outlet to regulate its level. [4] A drainage ditch to nearby Lake Henry was built in the 1920s with the support of local land owners to prevent the lake from fluctuating and flooding the surrounding land. The dry lakebed was used as a rubbish dump, although a portion of the lake has since filled again with water. [5]

A concrete walking path to the area of the lake was built in 2008 to allow visitors to DeSmet to experience it. [4] As of 2023, an observation tower near Silver Lake is being constructed with the aid of the National Park Service and various local agencies to allow tourists to better observe the landscape described in Wilder's books. [6] As of 2022, planning was underway for the construction of additional hiking trails and boardwalks in Big Slough. [7] [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Kulkarni, Kerry. "Kingsbury County trail will encourage outdoor adventure, education and tourism". The Public Opinion. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  2. ↑ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.2. University of South Dakota. p. 68.
  3. ↑ Wilder, Laura Ingalls; Williams, Garth (1994). By the shores of Silver Lake. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0-06-026416-1.
  4. 1 2 "De Smet, South Dakota | Little Town on the Prairie". www.desmetsd.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  5. ↑ "Silver Lake" . Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  6. ↑ "Big plans for Ingalls' Silver Lake area near DeSmet". KELOLAND.com. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  7. ↑ KELO-TV (2023-07-08). "Planning underway for Silver Lake trail, tower near De Smet". mykxlg.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
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