Devils Lake

Devils Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is the largest natural body of water and the second-largest body of water in North Dakota after Lake Sakakawea. It can reach a level of before naturally flowing into the Sheyenne River via the Tolna Coulee. On June 27, 2011, it reached an unofficial historical high elevation of . The cities of Devils Lake and Minnewaukan take their name from the lake as does the Spirit Lake Reservation, which is located on the lake's southern shores. History The present site of Devils Lake is historically territory of the Dakota people. The Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Cut-Head bands of Dakotas were relocated to the Spirit Lake Reservation as a result of the 1867 treaty with the United States that established a reservation for Dakotas who had not been forcibly relocated to Crow Creek Reservation in what is now called South Dakota. The name "Devils Lake" is a calque of the Dakota words mni (water) wak’áŋ (literally "pure source", also translated as "spirit" or "sacred"). The Dakota consider it holy because they believe it is the home of the underwater serpent Unktehi. The Dakota name is reflected in the name of the Spirit Lake Tribe and the nearby town of Minnewaukan. European-American settlers mistranslated the name to mean "Bad Spirit Lake", or "Devils Lake". The "bad" referred to the high salinity of the lake, making it unfit to drink, and "spirit" meant the mirages often seen across the water. The Christian concept of the devil is not present in Dakota philosophy. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations also accessed the lake, and the Arikara name for it is čiwahaahwaarúxti and the Hidatsa name is mirixubaash ("sacred water"). Geography Devils Lake is located in Ramsey County and Benson County in northeastern North Dakota. The Spirit Lake Tribe occupies most of the southern shore and has been adversely affected by flooding since the 1990s.