Lac Vieux Desert is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

divided between

Gogebic County, Michigan Gogebic County ( ) is the westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, and the westernmost in the state as a whole. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 14,380. The county seat is Bessemer. This was historical ...

, and

Vilas County, Wisconsin Vilas County is a county in the state of Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,047. Its county seat is Eagle River. The county partly overlaps the reservation of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippe ...

. Fed primarily by springs in the surrounding swamps, it is the source of the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousi ...

, which flows out of its southwest corner. The lake contains a number of small islands, especially in its northeastern lobe, including Draper Island in Michigan and Duck Island, in Wisconsin. Lac Vieux Desert has a surface elevation above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, and a maximum depth of about . The surface area is , of which approximately two-thirds is in Wisconsin and one third in Michigan. Located in the Lake District of northern Wisconsin, the lake is a popular boating and fishing resort. The lake was named by French fur trappers, who were some of the first Europeans in the region. They translated the name into French from the term used by the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

of the area: ''Gete-gitigaani-zaaga'igan,'' meaning "Lake of the Old Clearing", or "Old Garden." At the time of European colonization, the Ojibwe (also known in the US as Chippewa) occupied extensive territory around

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, in what are now the jurisdictions of northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the United States, and northern Ontario through southeastern Manitoba in Canada. The Michigan shore of Lac Vieux Desert is in the largest of the few small areas of Michigan that are part of the drainage or watershed of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. There are three such areas along the Wisconsin border with Gogebic County and a bit of Iron County in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

, and two areas along the Indiana border with Berrien County in southern Michigan.

Recreation

There are multiple resorts and campgrounds on the lake. Most of the shoreline on the Wisconsin side of the lake is developed, however dense forest surrounds many of the properties.

Fishing

In 1919, the Wisconsin state record

Tiger muskellunge The tiger muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy × lucius'' or ''Esox lucius × masquinongy''), commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually-sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy'') and the no ...

was caught in Lac Vieux Desert. It was long and weighed . The record has stood longer than any other fishing record in the state.

Local activities and attractions

Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Watersmeet Township of southeastern Gogebic County, in the western part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is the landbase for the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chi ...

, owns and operates a gaming casino * Paulding Light *

Bond Falls Bond Falls is a waterfall on the middle branch of the Ontonagon River, a few miles east of Paulding in Haight Township in southern Ontonagon County, Michigan. The site is near U.S. Highway 45 in the western portion of the Upper Peninsula of Mic ...

* Agate Falls Scenic Site

Notes

External links

ESPN's Lac Vieux Desert page
* {{authority control Vieux Desert Vieux Desert Vieux Desert Landforms of Vilas County, Wisconsin

Recreation

Fishing

Local activities and attractions

See also

Notes

External links