located at the headwaters of the Peace River. Lakes Winter Haven has 50 lakes within its borders, including its famous Chain of Lakes. The lakes are by far the city's most distinctive feature. Winter Haven bills itself as "The Chain of Lakes City". The city has two prominent chains of lakes; the northern chain has nine lakes interconnected by a series of canals. The southern chain features sixteen lakes interconnected by a series of canals. The southern chain has several prominent lakes, including Lake Eloise, Lake Howard, and Lake Lulu. In 2011, after six years of construction and political infighting, Winter Haven opened a canal lock system connecting the two chains. Most of the lakes in Winter Haven formed in a similar fashion to sinkholes, through dissolving of the limestone ground. These types of lakes are called "solution lakes". The lakes in Winter Haven teem with life, including alligators, bald eagles, great blue herons, and more. The Winter Haven lakes are a world-renowned spot for bass fishing. Climate Winter Haven is located in the humid subtropical zone (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). The average temperature is . The city averages of rain per year. The months of June, July, August, and September, which includes the height of the Atlantic hurricane season, are by far the rainiest time of the year. Those four months, which average of rain, account for more than half of the annual rainfall. Winters in Winter Haven are dry and sunny, with high temperatures of and lows of . Frost occur about once per year on average. Demographics As of the 2010 census, Winter Haven was 55.6% white, 28.2% black, 12.5% Hispanic, 2.5% Asian. As of the census of 2000, there were 26,487 people, 11,833 households, and 6,934 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,912 housing units at an average density of . There were 11,833 households, out of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 6.8%