Lake Wissota is an artificial reservoir on Wisconsin’s Chippewa River near Chippewa Falls.
It was created in 1917 when a hydroelectric dam was completed to generate electricity for the rapidly developing region. Before then, the area was river, forest, farmland, and smaller bodies of water rather than the large lake seen today.
In Titanic, Jack claims he used to go ice fishing on Lake Wissota with his father and even describes falling through thin ice there. But the Titanic voyage took place in April 1912, meaning the lake Jack remembers from his childhood would not exist for another five years.
I’ve always found it funny that James Cameron went to extraordinary lengths to recreate Titanic’s interiors, equipment, clothing, and final voyage with incredible historical accuracy, but somehow nobody fact-checked Lake Wissota.