Shaky Lake

State Natural Area (No. 180)

Location: Outagamie County. T21N-R15E, Sections 7, 8. 220 acres.

Access: From the intersection of U.S. Highway 45 and County T, 1 mile northwest of Hortonville, go south on T 1 mile, then west on County TT 2 miles, then south on Ledge Road 1 mile to the northeast corner of the site.

Description: Shaky Lake is a marl-bottomed bog lake surrounded by wire-leaved sedge meadow, tamarack swamp, and lacustrine forest. Grass-leaved pondweed, chara, and yellow pond-lily are the dominant submergents. Emergent aquatics include hard and soft-stem bulrushes and arrowhead with scattered clumps of cat-tail. A quaking sedge mat, containing wire-leaved sedges and many plant species characteristic of bog and fen communities, dominates most of the lake basin. A narrow zone of alders and willows form the transition from open mat to the surrounding forest of lacustrine hardwoods and tamarack. Summer resident wildlife includes green-backed heron, black duck, mallard, sharp-shinned hawk, broad-winged hawk, green frog, and bullfrog. The soils of the area are described as Granby, Shawano, and Emmet, all loamy sands and sandy loams, and shallow peat. Shaky Lake is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1983.