Walden Pond

Walden Pond
Walden Pond in 2023
Walden Pond
Walden Pond
LocationConcord, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°26′21″N 71°20′23″W / 42.4392°N 71.3397°W / 42.4392; -71.3397
TypeKettlehole
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area61 acres (25 ha)
Max. depth102 ft (31 m) or 107 ft (33 m)
Shore length11.7 miles (2.7 km)
Walden Pond
Nearest cityConcord, Massachusetts
Area250 acres (100 ha)
NRHP reference No.66000790
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLDecember 29, 1962
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Walden Pond is a historic pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. A good example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a 335-acre (136 ha) state park and recreation site managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The reservation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with the writer Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), whose two years living in a cabin on its shore provided the foundation for his famous 1854 work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 ensured federal support for the preservation of the pond.