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West Okoboji Lake (sometimes known as West Lake Okoboji) is a natural body of water, approximately in area, in
Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Dickinson County, Iowa * Dickinson County, Kansas * Dickinson County, Michigan Dickinson County is a county in the Upper peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of ...
in northwestern
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to ...
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 territo ...
. It is part of the chain of lakes known as the Iowa Great Lakes. The area was long inhabited by the Santee or Dakota
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
. The
Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...
-language name for the lake was ''Minnetonka'', meaning "great waters". The cities of Arnolds Park, Okoboji, West Okoboji, and Wahpeton sit on its shore. Okoboji was derived from the Dakota name for the lake, and Wahpeton was the name of one of the major historic Sioux bands in the nineteenth century. Today the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux are a federally recognized tribe.


Geography

The lake's maximum depth is , making it the deepest lake in Iowa and second in size only to Spirit Lake. The mean depth is . The drainage area of the lake is approximately .


Recreation

The depth of the lake makes it a popular regional destination for motor boating, water skiing, sailing, and swimming. The lake is also a popular fishing destination in the region. The main catches in the lake are
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 Sam ...
,
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
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 rela ...
. It also contains significant populations of smallmouth bass,
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 ...
,
muskie The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellu ...
,
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' ...
and
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 ...
,
black bass Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
.


Blue Water: Myth or Fact?

For nearly a century a myth has circulated that West Okoboji is one of only three blue water lakes in the world, the others being Lake Geneva in Wisconsin (sometimes referenced as located in Switzerland) and Lake Louise in Canada. Articles stating various versions of this erroneous information as fact have appeared in the Spencer Daily Reporter Spencer Daily Reporter (May 20, 1976) and in the Des Moines Register as recently as 2009, and appear in other tourist publications and websites. There is no scientific basis to this assertion and it likely originated with some early “boosters” of Dickinson County. Still, it raises the question as to where the idea originated from, and why Lake Geneva and Lake Louise are often mentioned as the other two lakes. Dr. John Schalles has taught limnology at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, a biological field station located on the shores of Lake West Okoboji, for several decades and has become very familiar with the myth having heard it from his students and local community members. “Folks try to persuade me this information was first published in a National Geographic article, but I have found no record of it.” Dr. Roger Bachman, another nationally recognized limnologist, agrees and says the Society denies it ever made such a ranking. “While the term ‘blue water lake’ is not a scientific term, it is a fact that lakes and oceans with exceptionally pure waters like
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...
, Crater Lake,
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 ...
and the
Sargasso Sea The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its chara ...
appear blue to the eye. When sunlight penetrates these waters the wavelengths (colors) of light are absorbed more strongly than blue, so that more of the blue remains to be scattered back out of the water surface.” Schalles has a theory, however, as to how the myth originated, in particular the association of West Okoboji and Lake Geneva as similarly unique lakes. In the early twentieth century E. A. Birge and Chancy Juday, two scientists today known as founders of the study of North American limnology, conducted studies on numerous lakes in the Midwest, including East and West Okoboji. In one publication, the authors make frequent comparisons between measurements taken at Lake West Okoboji and Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. Schalles wonders if these studies could have been the basis for the claim of the similarity between the two lakes, possibly struck by the fact that their local lake was being compared to one of the most famous lakes in the world, or perhaps thinking that this comparison (even if they had the information wrong) was a great way to impress folks and bring in more visitors. Regardless of the fact, there is no scientific basis that West Okoboji is a blue lake, scientists and non-scientists alike concur the lake has exceptional water quality and color for a lake in its region. In fact, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has given West Okoboji and its watershed a special designation as an Outstanding Iowa Water.


See also

* Big Spirit Lake *
East Okoboji Lake East Okoboji Lake is a natural body of water, approximately in area, in Dickinson County in northwest Iowa in the United States. It is part of the chain of lakes known as the Iowa Great Lakes. The area was long inhabited by the Santee or Easte ...


References


Non-cite template citations

*1. Birge, E.A., and C. Juday. 1920. A limnological reconnaissance of West Okoboji. University of Iowa Studies of Natural History. 9(1) 3 – 56. *2
wpl-reference.pbworks.com/w/page/12420954/Iowa%20Lakes%20-%20blue%20water
*3
www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryWater/WaterQualityStandards/Antidegradation.aspx
*4. Wild Wednesday, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, July 3, 2013


External links



on East Okoboji Lake

on West Okoboji Lake chemistry
U.S. Geological Survey site
on West Okoboji Lake current temperature
Okoboji Underwater Photography
Documentary produced by
Iowa Public Television Iowa PBS, formerly Iowa Public Television (IPTV), is a network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) List of PBS member stations, member stations in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state ...
* {{authority control Bodies of water of Dickinson County, Iowa Lakes of Iowa ht:West Okoboji, Iowa