Gull Lake is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

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 so ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, located in Cass County and

Crow Wing County Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd. The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870. Crow Wing County i ...

. It is one of the largest lakes in the

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

Baxter, Minnesota Baxter is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,612 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd Brainerd micropolitan area, Mic ...

area and also one of the most popular for vacationing and for recreation.MN DNR Lake Information Page
/ref> Of the seven Gull Lakes in Minnesota, this Gull Lake is the largest in area and shoreline. The shoreline is highly developed with residential and commercial interests. For each shoreline mile there are 27.8 homes or cabins. There are 19 resorts on Gull Lake, including notably Cragun's, Madden's, and Grand View Lodge.

History

Ice fishing at The Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza 03

Gull Lake was raised approximately five feet by the construction of Gull Lake Dam about a half mile down Gull River from the lake's outlet. The dam began service in 1912. Prior to this, logging interests would build temporary dams at the site. The dam was the final Mississippi Headwaters reservoir dam. Colonel Francis R. Shunk and George Freeman designed Gull Lake dam. Both are more well known for designing the Lock and Dam Number 1 on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in 1917 in

Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. The site of the Gull Lake Dam has particular prehistoric archaeological significance. Under the site there have been found at least 12 burial mounds as well as several partial mounds. All are thought to originate from the

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

American Indian tribes, which resided in the area from 800 B.C. to A.D. 200, returning later to inhabit the area from A.D. 600 to A.D. 900. The

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

recognizes these burial mounds. The site of St. Columba Mission on the eastern side of the lake is also listed on the National Register. In present day, the Gull Lake area has many amenities and houses, as it is close to Nisswa, and both of these places are common places to vacation. There are resorts including Grandview Lodge, Cragun's Resort, and Madden's Resort, have many golf courses and vacationers contribute significantly to the local economy during the summer. The cabins along Gull Lake tend to be very expensive.

Ice fishing contest

Gull Lake is the site of the annual Brainerd Ice Fishing Extravaganza, a charitable ice fishing contest hosted by Jaycees Brainerd. 20,000 ice fishing holes are drilled into the ice on Gull Lake for the event.

Physical features

At surface area, Gull Lake is the largest lake within the city limits of

East Gull Lake, Minnesota East Gull Lake is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 986 at the 2020 census. The nearest semi-urban area is that of Brainerd and Baxter. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. East Gull L ...

. The lake's maximum depth is with nearly 30% of the lake only or less. These shallow waters consist primarily of sand and gravel. There are also areas of rubble and boulder. Gull lake is long and wide,Gull Lake Resort Info
/ref> with a median depth of .
/ref> Gull lake is part of the Crow Wing

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. The shoreland is zoned for general development. Stony Brook stream's mouth is at Gull Lake. The

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

of Stony Brook were recently noticed as threatened by the recreational activity on Gull Lake. The stream's natural habitat for trout has been a focus point of restoration work by local anglers and MDNR fisheries biologists.

Wildlife

There are over 35 species of aquatic life in the water of Gull Lake, which help to maintain a large fish population. The emergent bulrush plant is especially important for providing a habitat for

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any food fish, edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational fishing, re ...

species. Anglers are attracted to the stocked

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

population in Gull Lake. Since 2003, at least 2,825,000 fry Walleye have been stocked into Gull Lake by the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, rec ...

. As of 2007 the average length and weight of a walleye in Gull lake was and . Another popular catch is

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, whose length and weight are, on average, and , respectively.

The Gull Chain

The Gull Chain of Lakes, for which Gull Lake is the namesake and largest member, is a collection of eight connected lakes and two bays: *Gull Lake *Upper Gull Lake *Nisswa Lake (not always considered part of the chain) *Roy Lake *Margaret Lake *Spider Lake (not always considered part of the chain) *Spring Lake *Love Lake *Round Lake *Bass Lake *Steamboat Bay *Wilson's Bay The chain collectively covers and its shores host over 2,500 homes. The chain spans across Cass County, MN and Crow Wing County, MN.Gull Chain of Lakes Association
/ref> Mayo and Sibley lakes are also connected to Gull Lake via Mayo Creek. Cullen lakes are connected to Gull via creek from Cullen to Lake Nisswa. Long Lake is connected to Round via Sugar Bush Creek. Round is part of the Gull Chain. Lake Hubert is connect to Lake Edward which flows into Lake Nisswa (Gull Chain)

Name change

On August 6, 2007, the MDNR Commissioner approved name changes to many bodies of water in Cass County containing the derogatory word

Squaw The English word squaw is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Scribi ...

. Squaw Point of

Leech Lake Leech Lake (translated from the Ojibwe language ''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag'': Lake abundant with bloodsuckers) is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, Minnesota, Bemidji, located mainly within the L ...

became Oak Point, Squaw Lake became Little Woman Lake, Squaw Pond became Scout Camp Pond, and Squaw Point of Gull Lake became Gull Point.MDNR Name Changes
/ref>

Places of interest on Gull Lake

*Steam Boat Bay, upon whose shores Maddens and Cragun's reside. *Gull Point, popular boating attraction for its nearby

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. *Wilson Bay *Sandy Point *Rocky Point *Grassy Point *Dutchman's Bluff *Sheafer Point *Holman's Point *Government Point *Floan's Point *Hunter's Point, known for its dangerously shallow straight

Towns near Gull Lake

Nisswa, Minnesota Nisswa ( ) is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2010 census. Nisswa is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area, near Gull Lake. History Smiley Township was founded in 1900, ...

Lake Shore, Minnesota *

References

External links

DNR Map of Gull Lake
*

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

(HAER) documentation: ** about six lakes including this one ** ** ** ** {{Authority control Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota Lakes of Cass County, Minnesota Lakes of Crow Wing County, Minnesota Reservoirs in Minnesota