Big Lake Butte des Morts () is a shallow

freshwater 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 larger ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, in Winnebago County. It is part of the

Winnebago Pool The Winnebago Pool is a collective name for a group of interconnected lakes in eastern Wisconsin. The terminal point of this watershed is Lake Winnebago itself, which has a surface elevation of 746 feet. Besides Lake Winnebago, the Winnebago Po ...

(also known as the ''Winnebago System'') of lakes in east central Wisconsin, along with

Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago ( mez, Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, oj, Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, one, kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres it is the largest lake entir ...

, Lake Poygan, and Lake Winneconne. The lake is fed by the Fox River in the southwest and the Wolf River draining from Lake Winneconne in the northwest, and drains via the Fox River southeast into Lake Winnebago. The lake is part of the Butte des Morts region in

Winnebago County, Wisconsin Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,730. Its county seat is Oshkosh. It was named for the historic Winnebago people, a federally recognized Native American tribe now known ...

. This lake is not connected to

Little Lake Butte des Morts Little Lake Butte des Morts is a lake in the US state of Wisconsin, eight miles north of Lake Butte des Morts. It is part of the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway and receives its inflow from a short segment of the Fox River which drains from the north ...

, which is located to the north, downstream of Lake Winnebago, fed by the lower Fox River. The name ''"Butte des Morts"'' was given by

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architecture ...

settlers. It means "Mound of the Dead", in reference to a nearby prehistoric Native American

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

. In the

Menominee language Menominee , also spelled Menomini (In Menominee Language: omǣqnomenēweqnæsewen) is an endangered Algonquian language spoken by the historic Menominee people of what is now northern Wisconsin in the United States. The federally recognized trib ...

this place is known as ''Paehkuahkīhsaeh'' which means "small mound".

Physical Aspects

With a surface area of , it is the second smallest of the Winnebago Pool Lakes after Lake Winneconne. Much of the lake is

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ed marshland, which was created by the damming of the Fox River downstream in Menasha in the 19th century. This has resulted in the lake's flat and shallow character, with a maximum depth of . It is rather narrow, with a maximum length of but a maximum width of just . Its total watershed (the combined drainage areas of the Fox and Wolf Rivers plus minor tributaries) is . Surface water temperature varies from a minimum of about in the winter to a maximum of about in the summer. The extensive

littoral zone The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

will usually freeze over in the winter, though only during particularly cold winters does the entire lake freeze over. The lake is

polymictic Polymictic lakes are holomictic lakes that are too shallow to develop thermal stratification; thus, their waters can mix from top to bottom throughout the ice-free period. Polymictic lakes can be divided into cold polymictic lakes (i.e., those tha ...

, maintaining a continuously mixed water column with no patterns of seasonal temperature

stratification Stratification may refer to: Mathematics * Stratification (mathematics), any consistent assignment of numbers to predicate symbols * Data stratification in statistics Earth sciences * Stable and unstable stratification * Stratification, or st ...

Water Quality

Lake Butte des Morts is classified as

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplank ...

. The lake is listed with the Wisconsin DNR as having "impaired" water quality, citing high levels of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, and

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...

and low levels of

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

, among other problems. Much of these pollutants enter the watershed from agricultural and urban

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

. Large

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompas ...

s and high ''

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' populations occasionally make the water unsafe for swimming. The water is typically a murky brown or green color, with high

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

, though prior to the 1970s the water was reported to be much clearer. Lake Butte des Morts has been the subject of numerous DNR management and monitoring projects aimed at protecting or improving water quality, often alongside other bodies of water in the same watershed.

Biology

Fish species found in the lake include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

, smallmouth bass,

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

, flathead and

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

and

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

. Wetland plants common in and around the lake are

American lotus ''Nelumbo lutea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name ''Nelumbo lutea'' Willd. is the c ...

common reed ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

, and

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

Invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

include

Chinese mystery snail The Chinese mystery snail, black snail, or trapdoor snail (''Cipangopaludina chinensis''), is a large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae. The name "trapdoor snail" refers the ...

curly-leaf pondweed ''Potamogeton crispus'', the crisp-leaved pondweed, curly pondweed, curly-leaf pondweed or curled pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant (hydrophyte) native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America. De ...

Eurasian watermilfoil ''Myriophyllum spicatum'' (Eurasian watermilfoil or spiked water-milfoil) is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. It ...

round goby The round goby (''Neogobius melanostomus'') is a fish. Defined as a euryhaline bottom-dwelling goby of the family Gobiidae, it is native to Central Eurasia, including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Round gobies have established large non-nat ...

rusty crayfish The rusty crayfish (''Faxonius rusticus'') is a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the United States, in the Ohio River Basin in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its range is rapidly expanding across much of ...

, and

zebra mussel The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...

. Dominant

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

genera include ''

Anabaena ''Anabaena'' is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria that exist as plankton. They are known for nitrogen-fixing abilities, and they form symbiotic relationships with certain plants, such as the mosquito fern. They are one of four genera of cyanob ...

Scenedesmus ''Scenedesmus'' is a genus of green algae, in the class Chlorophyceae. They are colonial and non-motile. Taxonomy Currently, there are 74 taxonomically accepted species of ''Scenedesmus''. Additionally, several subgenera have been identified, ...

, and

Melosira ''Melosira'' is a genus of diatoms belonging to the family Melosiraceae. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution, and inhabits both freshwater and marine habitats. Species Species: *'' Gaillonella ampla'' *'' Gaillonella apiculata'' *'' ...

.''

Human Use

The city of Oshkosh lies between Lake Butte des Morts and Lake Winnebago. The unincorporated community of Butte des Morts lies on the lake's northern shore, west of Oshkosh. Lake Butte des Morts is part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, which used to be used to travel between 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 ...

and

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

, but with the closure of both the

Portage Canal The Portage Canal was built to connect the Fox River and Wisconsin River at Portage, Wisconsin along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. For a time, it completed a route from the north Atlantic Ocean, through the St. Lawrence Seaway and down the Missi ...

and the locks on the lower Fox River has ceased operation. A marked navigation channel guides passage across the lake from the inflow of the Wolf River in the west (connecting to Lake Poygan), to the outflow of the Fox River east to Lake Winnebago, a remnant of the waterway. Lake Butte des Morts is popular among both

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

and recreational boaters during the warm months, and with ice fishermen in the winter. U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) /

Interstate 41 Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan Ch ...

(I41) spans the east end of the lake via a bridge and

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

combination. The bridge includes the Tribal Heritage Crossing, a designated national trail, which is a portion of the

Wiouwash State Trail The Wiouwash State Trail is a rail trail in northeastern Wisconsin. Its name is derived from the first two letters of the four counties it traverses: Winnebago, Outagamie, Waupaca, and Shawano. The trail's Tribal Heritage Crossing of Lake Butte ...

. Terrell's Island is a DNR-organized wetlands conservation project located on the south shore, enclosed by a

breakwall A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

that extends some distance into the lake. Terrell's Island Welcome Sign

Gallery

File:Winnebago-Reoriented.jpg, Winnebago pool, July 1996. Lake Winnebago is in the center, with Lake Butte des Morts just to the left of the center of the lake. File:USRoute41LakeButteDesMortsBridge.jpg,

bridge over Lake Butte des Morts File:Lake Butte des Morts from I41.jpg, A view of Lake Butte des Morts, looking west from the Interstate 41 bridge File:Terrell's Island Breakwall.jpg, View of Lake Butte des Morts from the public trail on the Terrell's Island breakwall

References

External links

Lake Butte des Morts
at Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Butte Des Morts Butte des Morts