Kissena Park's natural features were formed during the Wisconsin glaciation, about 20,000 years ago. The site of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, slightly west of Kissena Park, was originally part of the ancestral path of the Hudson River, and the present-day Kissena Lake was located on the eastern shore of the river. The glacier covered much of Long Island, where Queens is located, and formed a terminal moraine through the center of the island. One of these recesses became Kissena Lake. When the glacier receded, it created several recesses in the land, some of which were filled with water. The topography of Flushing and Northeast Queens was formed during this time, including the creation of Kissena Lake. Glaciation also created a natural source of well water for the area.