| Lake Minnetonka | |
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| Location | Minnesota |
| Coordinates | |
| Primary inflows | Six Mile Creek |
| Primary outflows | Minnehaha Creek |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 14,000 acres (57 km²) |
| Max. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers In Hydrology, the inflow of a Body of water is the source of the Water in the body of water Six Mile Creek drains a large area south and west of Lake Minnetonka, in Hennepin and Carver Counties In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time Minnehaha Creek is a Tributary of the Mississippi River located in Hennepin County Minnesota that extends from Lake Minnetonka in the west A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, depth | 113 ft (34 m) |
| Shore length1 | 140 mi (230 km) |
| Surface elevation | 929 ft (283 m) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Minnetonka is a 14,000-acre (57 km²) lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Throughout its recorded history, the lake has been a resort destination. A resort is a place used for Relaxation or Recreation, attracting visitors for Holidays or Vacations Resorts are places towns or sometimes It is located west-southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The lake's irregular shape with numerous bays means that it has about 140 miles (230 km) of shoreline.
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Early history
The first people of European descent known to have visited the lake were two 14-year-old boys from Fort Snelling, Joe Brown and Will Snelling. Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort St Anthony, is a former Military Fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota They found the lake in 1822 by paddling up Minnehaha Creek, though few people visited the lake in the following 30 years. Minnehaha Creek is a Tributary of the Mississippi River located in Hennepin County Minnesota that extends from Lake Minnetonka in the west
In 1852, the lake was given its name by Minnesota's territorial governor Alexander Ramsey. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Alexander Ramsey ( September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American Politician. He had been told that American Indians in the area used a phrase sounding like minn-ni-tanka, meaning “big water,” to refer to the lake. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The same year, the first settlements were constructed around it, and in 1853, the first hotel was built. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha in 1855, which referred to Minnesota and landmarks of the area such as Minnehaha Falls. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27 1807 &ndash March 24 1882 was an American educator and Poet whose works include " Paul Revere's Ride " An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 Epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow based on the legends of the Ojibway Indians. Minnehaha Creek is a Tributary of the Mississippi River located in Hennepin County Minnesota that extends from Lake Minnetonka in the west This gave the area national interest.
1861 saw the introduction of steamboats; the first one was the Governor Ramsey, named to honor the man who named the lake. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller Following the Civil War, a rail line operated by St. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Paul & Pacific Co. connected to the area in 1867.
The first inland steamboat to have electric lights, the City of St. " Electric Light " is a song by Infernal, scheduled to be their next single after " Whenever You Need Me " off their album Electric Louis, was built in Wayzata in 1881. Wayzata (waɪˈzɛtə or) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a western Suburb of Minneapolis. The next year, the largest ship to ever sail the lake was launched; the Belle of Minnetonka was 300 feet long and could carry 2500 passengers. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The 1880s marked the steamboats' heyday as tourist destinations. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel By 1892, the Belle stayed moored at her dock all summer long.
20th century
In 1905, Twin City Rapid Transit first connected streetcar lines to the lake. The Twin City Rapid Transit Company ( TCRT) also known as Twin City Lines ( TCL) was a transportation company that operated Streetcars and A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train This marked a golden age for the lake, with more rapid growth as TCRT added more resorts to the area and launched their “streetcar boats. The term Golden age is best known from Greek mythology and legend but can also be found in other ancient cultures (see below ” Actually named Express Boats, they were steamboats that shared the appearance of streetcars. At first six, and then seven, such boats would take arriving streetcar passengers and steam them to over twenty different endpoints on the lake. For a time, one destination was the Big Island Amusement Park, about the same size as today's Valleyfair, but it only lasted about five years before it was shut down. The Big Island Amusement Park was a popular tourist destination in the late 1800s and early 1900s Valleyfair is a 90 acre (05 km² Amusement park located in Shakopee Minnesota, USA and is currently the largest amusement park in the Upper Midwest Later, Excelsior Amusement Park had greater success, with seasonal operations running from 1925 through 1973. Excelsior Amusement Park was an Amusement park located on the shore of Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, Minnesota.
Crane Island, on the western side of the lake, was organized as a summer cottage retreat in 1907. Crane Island is an island in the western portion of Lake Minnetonka in the city of Minnetrista Minnesota. The Crane Island Association platted a number of lots on the shores of the island and dedicated a commons area in the center of the island. The island had originally been a heron rookery until a storm blew down most of the trees in the center of the island in 1906. The herons are wading Birds in the Ardeidae family Some are called Egrets or Bitterns instead of herons A rookery is a colony of breeding animals The term is most commonly applied to the nesting place of Birds such as the Crow and rook, a bird similar The island is now a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A historic district in the United States is a group of buildings properties or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of [1]
President William Howard Taft made Lake Minnetonka his summer home in 1911, but business in the area had started going down again by that time. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by William Howard Taft (September 15 1857 – March 8 1930 was an American politician, the twenty-seventh President of the United States, the tenth Chief Justice In 1926, most of the Express Boats were scuttled in deep water near the lake's Big Island. Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. On October 26 of the same year, architect Frank Lloyd Wright was arrested for violating the Mann Act while vacationing at a cottage near the lake with a woman who would later become his wife. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who The United States White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910 (ch 395; codified as amended at) prohibited White slavery.
In 1946, Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota, a town along the northwestern end of the lake (an area known as "Westonka"), and later changed their name to Tonka Toys. Mound is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Westonka is a Portmanteau of "west" and "Minnetonka" referring to the towns around the west third of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota, Tonka is an American Toy company most known for its signature toy Trucks and Construction equipment.
As the century drew on, many visitors came, although some were unwanted. Environmental concerns started to become important after Curled Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus L. ) was discovered in 1900. Following decades brought Purple Loosestrife in 1940 and Eurasian Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) in 1987. Lythrum salicaria ( Purple-loosestrife) is a Flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae, native to Europe, Asia Myriophyllum ( water milfoil) is a genus of about 45 species of freshwater Aquatic plants with a Cosmopolitan distribution. The lake also experienced problems with pollution, both from sewage and fertilizer runoff. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Sewage is the mainly liquid Waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water Feces, Urine, laundry waste and other Fertilizers ( also spelt fertiliser are chemical compounds given to Plants to promote growth they are usually applied either through the soil for uptake by plant RUNOFF was the first Computer Text formatting program to see significant use Lake Minnetonka is now closely monitored.
Even with the troubles, the lake remained a fairly popular destination, with tourist boats from one company or another still operating in the warmer months. One of the old streetcar boats that had been scuttled in 1926, the Minnehaha, was even raised to the surface in 1980 so it could be restored. After many years of volunteer restorative work, it returned to limited service on the lake in 1996 as an exhibit of the Minnesota Transportation Museum, now part of the Museum of Lake Minnetonka. The Minnesota Transportation Museum ( MTM) is a Transport museum in Minneapolis Minnesota. The Museum of Lake Minnetonka ( MLM) is an organization that was split from the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM in 2004 &ndash 2005 to operate
Recent history
The lake is mentioned in the Prince film Purple Rain and a scene is featured in which Prince's love interest attempts to "purify" herself in the lake. Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American musician Purple Rain is a 1984 Feature film directed by Albert Magnoli and written by Magnoli and William Blinn After she has entered the water, Prince reveals that the water she has entered is not in fact Lake Minnetonka. Dave Chappelle (as Prince) mocked that part of the film in an episode of Chappelle's Show, saying, "Why don't you purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka?" Since his rise to fame in the 1980s, Prince has lived around the lake area but never on the lake itself. David Khari Webber Chappelle (born August 24, 1973) is an American Comedian, Screenwriter, television / Film producer, and Chappelle's Show is an American Comedy Television He has had a home on Lake Ann in Chanhassen. Chanhassen is a city in Carver and Hennepin counties in the U
In 2005 Lake Minnetonka gained national attention due to the scandal involving members of the Minnesota Vikings football team. An alleged sex party occurred on October 6, 2005 on Lake Minnetonka with seventeen key members of the Minnesota Vikings football team including quarterback The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based out of Minneapolis Minnesota. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with On October 6, 2005, during a cruise on a pair of chartered boats on Lake Minnetonka, certain members of the team were alleged to have performed and received sexual favors with a variety of individuals, leading to widespread criticism of the players and embarrassment within the organization. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Fishing on the lake
Lake Minnetonka is a premier location in the southern section of the state, and especially the metro area, for fishing tournaments. Its game species include yellow perch, sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, and especially muskellunge (or muskies). The yellow perch ( Perca flavescens) is a species of Perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform The sunfishes are a family ( Centrarchidae) of freshwater Ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides) is a Species of Fish in the sunfish family. The northern pike (known as the pike in Britain Esox lucius, is a Species of carnivorous Fish of the genus Esox (the pikes The walleye (common US name or yellow pickerel (Canada ( Sander vitreus vitreus, formerly Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) is a freshwater Perciform The muskellunge, Esox masquinongy, is also known as the muskie, musky or maskinonge. There are dozens of fishing tournaments every year, and several of the largest bass in the state have been taken from Lake Minnetonka. Regarding muskies, few lakes near Minneapolis have more, bigger fish. Big Island, a popular lounging island near Excelsior, holds many large fish. Common methods for Lake Minnetonka muskies include bucktails, surface lures and spoons. The best spot for bass and northern pike are quiet coves or bays where there is medium vegetation and zero to very few boaters. Fish these areas with topwaters or suspending baits to get the fish to bite. If that doesn't work, try soft baits like salamanders, worms, or crawdads to get fish in the boat.
According to a popular legend, a sturgeon in excess of 10 feet (3 m) in length has been sighted on more than one occasion in the lake. Sturgeon is the Common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, These sightings have persisted over the last 30 years. The sturgeon is often referred to as "Lou. "
Lake Cruises
Lake Minnetonka is popular for lake cruises. The lake cruises offer views of the lake and dining on a Al & Alma's Supper Club & Charters.
Geography
Gray's Bay Dam on the lake's east end helps to control the water level. This structure is also called the Headwaters Control Structure of Gray's Bay. The flow over the dam ranges from zero to 300 cu ft (8. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom 495 m³) per second or a daily rate of up to 26 million US gallons (98,421 m³). CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries Evaporation from Lake Minnetonka can be as high as 50 million US gallons (189,270. 6 m³) a day. According the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, annual evaporation from the lake is about 30 inches (760 mm) of water, or 11. 5 billion US gallons (43,532,235 m³). This is countered by an average rate of 28 inches (710 mm) of rainfall, and 20 inches (508 mm) of run off water.
See also
References
- Lake Minnetonka History, accessed January 31, 2004
- Minnesota DNR Lake Information Report -- Lake Minnetonka
External links
- Lake Minnetonka Online
- Westonka Historical Society
- MoundWestonka.com
- Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
- Wayzata Yacht Club
- Lake Minnetonka Cruises
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