I-57 SB - Rend Lake Rest Area - Whittington, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 05.707 W 088° 54.820
16S E 332194 N 4218097
Named for the lake it sits beside.
Waymark Code: WMP7P4
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2015
Views: 3
County of area: Franklin County
Location of rest area: I-57, SB, M/M 79, Whittington
Operated by: IlDot
Four Square view of this rest area
"Rend Lake is a 13 miles (20.9 km)-long, 3 miles (4.8 km)-wide southern Illinois reservoir in Franklin and Jefferson Counties near Benton, Illinois. The lake contains 18,900 acres (76 km²) of water, stores 185,000 acre feet (228,000,000 m3) of water, and supplies over 15 million gallons of water per day to 300,000 persons in over 60 communities. The reservoir is up to 35 feet (10.7 m) deep, but its average depth is closer to 9.7 feet (3.0 m). Its elevation is 405 feet (123.4 m) above sea level.
"Rend Lake is a reservoir, created when the United States Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Big Muddy River. The dam and lake were authorized in 1962, but the lake was not completely filled until March 1973.
"The lakeshore of Rend Lake extends covers 162 miles (261 km), part of which is preserved as Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area. Swimming beaches at North Marcum and South Sandusky are managed and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. An adjacent Illinois Artisans Shop & Visitors Center is part of the Illinois State Museum system and is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
In 2010, Rend Lake was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois." ~ Wikipedia