Devil's Lake
View from space, October 1985
Location	North Dakota
Catchment area	3,300 mi² (8,600 km²)
Basin countries	United States
Surface elevation	1446 ft (441 m)

Devil's Lake (often written as Devils Lake) is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is the largest natural body of water in the state and the second-largest after the artificially created Lake Sakakawea. In 2004, it reached a historical high elevation of 1449.1 ft (441.69 m), an area of 216 mi² (560 km²), and a volume of 2.7 million acre-feet (3.3 km³). Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 595 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (635 × 640 pixel, file size: 229 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Devils Lake, North Dakota, United States - October 1985 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Devils Lake or Devils Lake may refer to many different locations in the United States, including: A community in Michigan: Devils Lake, Michigan A city in North Dakota: Devils Lake, North Dakota A lake in North Dakota: Devils Lake (North Dakota) A lake in Oregon: Devils Lake... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties/Parishes/Boroughs, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... Lake Sakakawea is a reservoir on the Missouri River. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The city of Devils Lake, North Dakota takes its name from the lake. Devils Lake is a city in Ramsey County, North Dakota in the United States. ...

Geography

Devils Lake is located between Ramsey County and Benson County in northeastern North Dakota. The Spirit Lake Tribe occupies most of the southern shore. Ramsey County is a county located in the state of North Dakota. ... Benson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. ... The Spirit Lake Tribe (In Santee Sioux: Mni Wakan Oyate, formerly Devils Lake Sioux) is a Sioux tribe and its reservation is located in east-central North Dakota. ...

Hydrology

Devil's Lake is the terminal lake of a drainage basin of some 3,300 mi² (8,600 km²). Above a level of some 1446 ft (441 m) AMSL the lake spills into neighboring Stump Lake. At 1459 ft (445 m) the lake flows naturally into the Sheyenne River, though the lake has not reached this level in many thousands of years. The term above mean sea level (AMSL) refers to the elevation (on the ground) or altitude (in the air) of any object, relative to the average sea level. ... The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, beginning about 29 north of McClusky, North Dakota and meanders eastward before turning south near McVille, North Dakota. ...

Recreation

Devil's Lake has long been a destination for fishing and other watersport. It has named itself the perch capital of the world. There are a number of boat ramps and other facilities around the lake to facilitate recreational activities on the lake. Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Water sport most commonly refers to a sport which is played in the water. ... Species P. flavescens (Yellow perch) P. fluviatilis (European perch) P. schrenkii (Balkhash perch) For other meanings of the word perch, including fish not in the Perca genus, see Perch (disambiguation). ...

Sullys Hill National Game Preserve is located on the lake's southern shore. Grahams Island State Park is located on an island in the lake. Other parks on the lake include Black Tiger State Recreation Area and Shelvers Grove State Recreation Area, which is now closed due to the lake's flooding. Sullys Hill National Game Preserve is a National Wildlife Refuge located on the shore of Devils Lake in Benson County, North Dakota, within the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. ...

Issues and controversies

Outlet controversy

During the most recent wet cycle which began in 1993, the lake rose over 26.5 ft (8.1 m), inundating 140 mi² (363 km²) of primarily agricultural land, necessitating the expenditure of over $400 million in flood protection measures and leading some to call for an emergency outlet into the Sheyenne River. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

A proposal from the Army Corps of Engineers would have drawn water from a different point of the lake, included filtration, and been able to discharge a maximum of 300 ft³/s (8 m³/s) of water from Devil's Lake, though it would be subject to the full battery of federal bureaucracy and international negotiation. United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 military men and women. ...

The North Dakota government under Governor John Hoeven instead pursued unilateral construction of an outlet, with approval of the state Department of Health. With limited state funding this outlet will remove less water than the federal proposal (limited to a maximum of 100 ft³/s (2.8 m³/s) by the Section 402 NDPDES Permit) and less advanced, without any filtration features, but is faster in providing some relief to the situation. Construction began in 2003 and was completed as of summer 2005. John Hoeven (born March 13, 1957) has been the Governor of North Dakota since December 2000. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The outlet has drawn fire from the governments of Minnesota and Manitoba, which maintain that the outlet would create the potential for unacceptable levels of sulfates in the river, and the potential for the transfer of unknown foreign aquatic species into the Red River basin (including Lake Winnipeg, the world's 10th-largest freshwater lake), as the outlet would release untreated water from the lake. Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL YT NT NU Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard - Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation... See also the Red River disambiguation page. ... Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, on Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (52°30′N 97°47′W) is a very large (24,400 km²) lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, about 55 km north of the city of Winnipeg. ...

In March 2004, Manitoba, along with Minnesota and several environmental groups, sued the Department of Health in state court over the Devils Lake Outlet 402 NDPDES Permit. The outlet was allowed to proceed in state court rulings August 2004 and May 2005, however, federal courts and the International Joint Commission have yet to weigh in on the issue. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths • 08 Abu Abbas • 20 Queen Juliana • 28 Peter Ustinov • 30 Alistair Cooke More March 2004 deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers Haiti Rebellion Israeli-Palestinian conflict Occupation of Iraq Same-sex marriage in... August 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: August 2004 in sports Deaths in August 2004 • 30 Fred Whipple • 26 Laura Branigan • 24 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross • 18 Elmer Bernstein • 15 Amarsinh Chaudhary • 14 CzesÅ‚aw MiÅ‚osz • 13 Julia Child • 8... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Wikimedia Commons has media related to: May 2005 Deaths in May May 26: Eddie Albert May 25: Ismail Merchant May 25: Sunil Dutt May 25: Graham Kennedy May 22: Thurl Ravenscroft May 21: Howard Morris May 21... The International Joint Commission is an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. ...

The Canadian government has taken a particular interest in the matter, arguing that completion of the outlet as currently planned would be a violation of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and Canada's national sovereignty. Thus far, the U.S. has taken the position that the diversion will not be harmful or violate the treaty. The International Boundary Waters Treaty is the 1909 treaty between the United States and Canada providing mechanisms for resolving any dispute over any waters bordering the two countries. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In November 2005, a joint United States and Canadian study concluded that none of the 12 species Canada classifies as invasive were present in Devil's Lake. However, the study did find three species of fish parasites and four kinds of algae that are not currently found in the Red River Basin. Due to these findings, the Government of Manitoba has not swayed from its position that the State of North Dakota install a better filtration system at the outlet of the lake. Ongoing events • Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal • Al Jazeera bombing memo • Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak • Black sites scandal • Conservative leadership race (UK) • Fuel prices • Irans nuclear program • Jilin chemical plant explosions • Kashmir earthquake • Malawi food crisis • Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal • New Delhi bombings investigation • Niger food crisis • North Indian cyclone...

A 2006 poll by Friends of the Earth Canada found that the majority of people in Manitoba and North Dakota were aware of the issue and "67.3% of North Dakotans agreed with the statement, 'As a good neighbor, North Dakota should not allow polluted water to enter Canada.' This statement was supported by nearly all of the Manitobans (96%)".

Carp

Due to the rising waters of the Devils Lake and its basin, streams can flow in two directions: into the Red River Valley or the Devil's Lake Basin. The Red River Valley basin contains a "rough fish", the common carp, which the North Dakota Game and Fish Department fears will enter Devil's Lake basin waters in the near future, allowing the carp to populate Devil's Lake. The carp's fast reproductive growth and the lack of carp predators in the lake will likely help it to dramatically increase in population. This could have drastic consequences for existing populations of game fish such as the walleye and northern pike, which could greatly harm the sport fishing industry. The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. ... Binomial name Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater fish distantly related to the common goldfish, with which it is capable of interbreeding. ... Binomial name (Mitchill, 1818) Subspecies S. v. ... Binomial name Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 Northern pike The northern pike, Esox lucius, is a carnivorous fish of brackish and freshwaters of the northern hemisphere. ...

Some preventative measures have been proposed, including inserting chemicals in the creeks along the boundary of the Devil's Lake Basin and the Red River Valley that do not allow fish to live. Biologists did tests in 2005 which conclude that there are currently no carp in the Devil's Lake Basin, but some have been found within two miles. The carp appear to have been stalled by abundant cattail plants, which make travel difficult to impossible for fish. Species See text. ...

External links

• Devils Lake from the United States Geological Survey website
• Devils Lake from the North Dakota State Water Commission website
• Devils Lake Outlet 402 NDPDES Permit from the North Dakota Department of Health website
• 2006 Poll by Friends of the Earth Canada Poll of opinion in North Dakota and Manitoba on the Devils Lake Outlet issue.
• Legal Article/AnalysisDevils Lake, Social Sciences Research Network. North Dakota Law Review