Panorama: Big Bend Lake, Des Plaines, IL (2015-06-04 16-51-33 to 16-51-57a)

The photo was taken at Big Bend Lake in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Big Bend Lake and the surrounding parkland are part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It is located in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and is open to the public between sunrise and sunset.

The lake covers 27 acres with 1.1 miles of shoreline. It’s average depth is between 9 and 15 feet with a maximum of 21 feet. It is not a natural lake. It was built in 1958 so the land could be used for fill from the construction of the nearby Tri-State Tollway. There is a spillway which connects the lake to the Des Plaines River.

The lake is almost totally devoid of aquatic vegetation. Although there are sporadic clumps, its bottom is almost all sand, gravel and muck.

Fishing is allowed. You can catch largemouth bass, northern pike, crappie, channel catfish, bluegill, sunfish, bullhead (a species of catfish) and carp. The lake is not stocked since, when it is at high levels, the fish would wash away into the river. (The fish also enter the lake from the river as well.)

There is a boat ramp but outboard motors are not allowed. Electric motors, as well as rowboats, canoes and kayaks are permitted. The park provides a nice place for picnicking. Bathroom facilities consist of porta-potties.

This panorama is made up of 8 individual images taken with a Nikon Coolpix P7700 camera and stitched together using Photoshop Elements 13.1. Then I used ACDSee Ultimate 8.2 to adjust the lighting and boost saturation and vibrance.

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