| Red Lake | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Red_Lake_by_Sentinel-2.jpg) Satellite image | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:USA_Minnesota_relief_location_map.svg)  Red Lake &sq=&lang=&file=File:Usa_edcp_relief_location_map.png) Red Lake | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Northern_minnesota_lakes.png) Lakes in Northern Minnesota | |
| Location | Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States |
| Coordinates | 48°04′25″N 95°01′44″W / 48.0735°N 95.0290°W |
| Type | dam controlled natural lake |
| Primary outflows | Red Lake River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 440 sq mi (1,150 km2) |
| Max. depth | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Surface elevation | 1,175 ft (358 m) |
Red Lake (translated from the Ojibwe language Miskwaagamiiwi-zaaga'igan: Lake with its liquid [water] be colored red) is a lake in Beltrami County in northern Minnesota.
It is the largest natural freshwater lake located entirely within Minnesota,[1] and the 16th largest lake in the United States. The lake is separated into two sections by a peninsula on the eastern side that almost bisects it in the middle. The community of Ponemah lies on the peninsula. The two parts of the lake are known as Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake. Lower Red Lake lies entirely within the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Total size is 444 square miles (1,150 km2), with a maximum depth of 33 feet (10 m) in the lower portion of the lake. The elevation of the lake is maintained by a dam at the outflow that is the beginning of Red Lake River, this being at the middle, western edge of Lower Red Lake.
The lake is a popular destination for ice fishing. In the early 2022 fishing season an incident occurred, involving around 200 people laying on the ice sheet on Upper Red Lake. The ice sheet ruptured isolating them over a floating ice bank which separated by over 90 feet (27 m) from the contiguous ice. They had to be rescued.[2] A similar incident, requiring the rescue of 122 anglers, happened in late December 2023.[3]
- ^ Lakes Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine, United States Department of the Interior, Retrieved March 8, 2012
- ^ "Scores of anglers rescued from broken ice chunk". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
- ^ "122 anglers rescued from ice floe in northern Minnesota lake, no injuries reported".