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534:. The rocks are used by tourists for walking across the Mississippi River. This outlet channel underwent restoration work in October of 2020. The channel was reshaped direct water away from the shoreline, reducing erosive effects. The Minnesota DNR stabilized the shoreline with a combination of boulders and natural vegetation. Although the path of the stepping stones were reshaped, the underlying dam was unchanged.
554:'s Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories campus, which offers spring and summer courses and field research work year-round. The campus was established in 1909. Some of these buildings date from the 1930s and 40s, while others, including the largest building the Biome Center, were built more recently. The current Director of the biological station is Jonathan Schilling.
423:(Sidelake Lake and Sidelake River), respectively. In 1887 Williard Glazier promoted a campaign to consider Elk Lake, which he called Glazier Lake, as the true source of the Mississippi. Its longest tributary originates at Little Elk Lake, which is 100 ft (30 m) higher in elevation and 11 km upstream from the Lake Itasca outflow, at
483:, a land surveyor and president of the Minnesota Historical Society, after spending five months exploring the lakes, claimed that the lakes and streams further south of Lake Itasca were not the true source of the Mississippi because they were "too small". Modern explorers and geographers, however, have used the tiniest trickles of water to
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557:
The Lake Itasca region claims a unique location, not only at the headwaters of the
Mississippi River and amidst 25% of the old growth forest of Minnesota, but also at the juncture of the three great habitats of North America: the Great Plains, the Deciduous Forest of the south, and the Coniferous
495:, and other rivers. Brower was to campaign aggressively to save the lake from logging. On April 21, 1891, the Minnesota Legislature officially made it a state park by a margin of one vote. Brower is now called the "Father of Lake Itasca" and the visitor center is named in his honor.
414:
The western arm of the lake is fed by two streams on its south end. Nicollet Creek starts in a nearby spring. Another small stream leads into Itasca from Elk Lake, which in turn is fed by two other streams. The Ojibwa called Elk Lake and the stream
645:. The other definition acknowledges "somewhat arbitrary decisions" and places the Mississippi's sources at Lake Itasca, which is publicly accepted as the source of the Mississippi, identified as such by a late 1800s surveyor
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530:, to create a more "pleasant experience" for visitors. The project included the draining of the surrounding swamp, the digging of a new channel, and the installation of a man-made rock
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Henry
Schoolcraft identified Lake Itasca as the river's primary source in 1832. He had been part of a previous expedition in 1820 led by
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840:"The True Utmost Reaches of the Missouri: Were Lewis and Clark Wrong When They Identified the Source of This Great River?"
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you can walk on the rocks and over the shallow stream that actually is the headwaters of the great
Mississippi River.
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The unique geography of the Lake Itasca region has found its way onto the classical music concert stage. Composer
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399:. There are several tributaries that flow (most or all of the year) into the lake, one of which, by most modern
379:("true head "). It is one of several examples of pseudo-Native American place names created by Schoolcraft.
352:. It has an average depth of 20 to 35 feet (5 to 10 m) and is 1,475 feet (450 m) above sea level.
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720:"The Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota. The fifteenth annual report for the year 1886"
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was the first person to discover the lake and identified it as the source of the
Mississippi in 1804.
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633:. By the stricter definition, the Mississippi would share its source with its longest tributary, the
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470:(which is downstream from Itasca) as the source of the river. There exists a dissenting claim that
363:(Elk Lake). The first European explorers in the area were French Canadian and they named the lake
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Itasca
Biological Station and Laboratories, College of Biological Sciences (February 20, 2015).
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Who discovered Itasca Lake? : letter of Wm. Morrison, an early Indian trader
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of the
Mississippi as it emerges from the lake was bulldozed in the 1930s by the
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989:"Widened by erosion, iconic Mississippi headwaters to undergo restoration work"
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367:(Doe Lake, often mistranslated as Elk Lake). The name was later changed by
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Forest of the north. Remnants of all three may be observed in the park.
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The primary source of the
Mississippi River on the edge of Lake Itasca
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1092:"Ferde Grofé 'Mississippi Suite': A Journey Down Memory Lane"
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29:
Lake in
Clearwater County, northern Minnesota, United States
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You can walk across the headwaters, by bridge or on stones
838:
Nell, Donald F.; Demetriades, Anthony (July–August 2005).
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recognizes two contrasting definitions of a river's
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573:who reside there in his popular classical epic the
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791:Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia
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395:which flows 2,340 mi (3,770 km) to the
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153:
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751:Native American Placenames of the United States
516:Rayleigh scattering over Lake Itasca, June 2023
371:to "Itasca", coined from a combination of the
754:. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 188.
967:Mississippi Headwaters; Itasca State Park MN
932:"A Trip North to the Mississippi Headwaters"
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40:
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340:, in the Headwaters area of north-central
1070:Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
1150:Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota
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942:from the original on October 17, 2020.
813:
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1135:Lakes of Clearwater County, Minnesota
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862:
825:"Largest Rivers in the United States"
211:Nicolet Creek, Elk Lake outlet stream
502:View of Lake Itasca taken July 2015
112:
82:
24:
18:Headwaters of the Mississippi River
1155:Glacial lakes of the United States
827:. United States Geological Survey.
508:Sunset over Lake Itasca, July 2018
454:and in the Mississippi watershed.
25:
1166:
1113:
781:
248:1.8 sq mi (4.7 km)
1090:Burns, Alex (October 15, 2021).
1063:"Nature Vegetation of Minnesota"
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1038:"Meet Jonathan | Schilling Lab"
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722:. Minnesota Geological Survey.
684:"Minnesota Pronunciation Guide"
627:United States Geological Survey
565:depicted the birthplace of the
383:Source of the Mississippi River
344:, and is notable for being the
1145:Lakes of the Mississippi River
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775:
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676:
652:
619:
13:
1:
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662:on the discovery of Elk Lake.
125:Show map of the United States
881:Minnesota Historical Society
795:Minnesota Historical Society
7:
823:Kammerer, J.C. (May 1990).
582:
528:Civilian Conservation Corps
256:20–35 ft (6–11 m)
10:
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869:Morrison, William (1872).
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264:1,475 ft (450 m)
1018:. University of Minnesota
972:Prairie Public Television
906:"Minnesota DNR Park Info"
538:Common ground for science
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748:Bright, William (2004).
718:Winchell, N. H. (1887).
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550:The lake is home to the
546:Lake Itasca and Elk Lake
589:List of Minnesota lakes
552:University of Minnesota
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519:
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466:that had named nearby
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974:. February 20, 2013.
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417:Bekegamaag-zaaga'igan
361:Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan
359:name for the lake is
176:47.21806°N 95.20722°W
95:Show map of Minnesota
42:Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan
1042:schillinglab.umn.edu
995:. September 6, 2020
892:Library of Congress
850:on January 18, 2012
658:See the article on
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336:, in south-eastern
181:47.21806; -95.20722
172: /
1140:Lakes of Minnesota
801:on January 8, 2011
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520:
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487:the source of the
464:General Lewis Cass
387:It is the primary
278:Schoolcraft Island
936:Explore Minnesota
761:978-0-8061-3598-4
576:Mississippi Suite
567:Mississippi River
442:47.158°N 95.224°W
393:Mississippi River
369:Henry Schoolcraft
350:Mississippi River
338:Clearwater County
334:Itasca State Park
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261:Surface elevation
224:Mississippi River
143:Clearwater County
139:Itasca State Park
16:(Redirected from
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908:. Archived from
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844:Montana Outdoors
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692:. Archived from
689:Associated Press
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475:William Morrison
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1099:. Retrieved
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1073:. Retrieved
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1022:November 25,
1020:. Retrieved
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997:. Retrieved
992:
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957:Ghostarchive
955:Archived at
951:
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916:February 11,
914:. Retrieved
910:the original
900:
890:– via
884:. Retrieved
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854:November 11,
852:. Retrieved
848:the original
843:
833:
803:. Retrieved
799:the original
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409:Amazon River
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330:glacial lake
284:
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245:Surface area
26:
1120:Lake Itasca
886:February 6,
728:11299/56247
563:Ferde Grofé
445: /
401:definitions
365:Lac Labiche
285:Lake Itasca
179: /
154:Coordinates
119:Lake Itasca
89:Lake Itasca
35:Lake Itasca
1129:Categories
805:August 14,
670:References
472:fur trader
433:95°13′26″W
430:47°09′29″N
405:Nile River
167:95°12′26″W
164:47°13′05″N
485:determine
468:Cass Lake
346:headwater
342:Minnesota
993:MPR News
959:and the
940:Archived
877:St. Paul
635:Missouri
583:See also
569:and the
135:Location
1101:May 10,
1075:May 10,
1047:May 10,
767:May 10,
733:May 10,
700:July 4,
643:Montana
524:channel
458:History
391:of the
375:phrase
348:of the
274:Islands
198:Glacial
758:
647:Brower
631:source
607:(1929)
605:Itasca
603:USCGC
598:(1907)
596:Itasca
532:rapids
489:Amazon
389:source
357:Ojibwe
49:Ojibwe
45:
1066:(PDF)
637:, at
613:Notes
594:USRC
373:Latin
231:Basin
1103:2023
1077:2023
1049:2023
1024:2020
1001:2024
918:2007
888:2021
856:2009
807:2007
769:2023
756:ISBN
735:2023
702:2011
625:The
522:The
493:Nile
419:and
407:and
355:The
323:TASS
321:eye-
193:Type
724:hdl
641:in
325:-kə
1131::
1094:.
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294:aɪ
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312:ə
309:k
306:s
303:æ
300:t
297:ˈ
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287:(
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47:(
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