Located along the middle basin of the St. Johns, the lake encompasses an area of approximately 16,000 acres (65 km2), including open water and floodplain.

It is named in honor of Brigadier General Thomas Jesup, an American military officer who served in the Second Seminole War.

[1] The lake is bisected by one of the state's longest free-standing bridges, part of the Seminole County Expressway (SR 417).

The removal of this berm also increases the lake's flood buffering capacity as well as providing habitat to a wide variety of life.

In January 2008 the Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Transportation, and others contracted to have the State Road 417 bridge rebuilt.