Lake Butte des Morts
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and is part of the Winnebago Pool
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 Pool includes Big Lake Butte des Morts, Lake Poygan and...
(also known as the Winnebago System). The lake is fed by the Fox River
Fox River (Wisconsin)
The Fox River is a river in eastern and central Wisconsin in the United States. Along the banks is a chain of cities, including Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Little Chute, Kimberly, Combined Locks, and Kaukauna. Except for Oshkosh, these cities refer to themselves as the Fox Cities...
in the southwest and the Wolf River
Wolf River (Fox River)
The Wolf River, long, is one of the two National Scenic Rivers in Wisconsin, along with the St. Croix River. The scenic portion is long. It rises in the north woods of the state, with the northernmost fork stemming from Pine Lake in Forest County. The river then flows south through Langlade and...
draining from Lake Winneconne in the northwest, and drains via the Fox River southeast into Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago is a freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest lake entirely within the state.-Statistics:...
. The lake is also part of the Butte des Morts
Butte des Morts
Butte Des Morts is a region of northeastern Wisconsin, in Winnebago County, containing two known lakes: Little Lake Butte des Morts, and Lake Butte des Morts. Little Lake Butte des Morts lies between the Menasha region from the town of Menasha, while Big Lake Butte des Morts lies in the northwest...
region in Winnebago County, Wisconsin
Winnebago County, Wisconsin
Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2009, the population estimate was 163,370. Its county seat is Oshkosh. Winnebago County is included in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Neenah, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. Much of the lake is flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ed marshland created by the damming of the Fox River downstream in Menasha
Menasha, Wisconsin
Menasha is a city in Calumet and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 16,331 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly in the Town of Menasha in Winnebago County; only a small portion is in the Town of Harrison in Calumet County. Doty Island is located...
in the 19th century, which explains the lake's flat and shallow character (maximum depth is 15 ft). U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41 is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was U.S...
spans the east end of the lake via. a bridge and causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
combination. The city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
lies between Lake Butte des Morts and Lake Winnebago.
Big Lake Butte des Morts is popular among both fishermen
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and recreational boaters during the warm months, and with ice fishermen
Ice fishing
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.-Locations:It is a popular pastime...
in the winter. A marked navigation channel helps passage across the lake from the inflow of the Wolf River to the west (connecting to Lake Poygan
Lake Poygan
Lake Poygan, located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin near the village of Winneconne, is an expansive widening of the Wolf River totaling over 14,000 acres . Lake Poygan is part of the Winnebago Pool, a series of interconnected lakes fed by both the Fox and Wolf Rivers...
), to the outflow of the Fox River east to Lake Winnebago. While in the same general location, it is not connected to Little Lake Butte des Morts
Little Lake Butte des Morts
Little Lake Butte des Morts is a lake in the state of Wisconsin, USA, 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 end of Lake Winnebago around Doty Island. The north end...
, a smaller lake to the north downstream of the Winnebago Pool
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 Pool includes Big Lake Butte des Morts, Lake Poygan and...
. Big Lake Butte des Morts served as part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway
Fox-Wisconsin Waterway
The Fox–Wisconsin Waterway is a waterway formed by the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. First used by European settlers in 1673 during the expedition of Marquette & Joliet, it was one of the principal routes used by travelers between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River until the completion of the...
.
Fish species found in the lake include walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, drum, white bass
White bass
The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie...
, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, carp
Common carp
The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
, flathead
Flathead catfish
The flathead catfish , also called the yellow cat, opelousas, and shovelhead cat, are large North American freshwater catfish. This is the only species of the genus Pylodictis...
and channel catfish
Channel catfish
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
, northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
and sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
. Sunset Point, located near the U.S. Highway 41 bridge, is one of the most popular walleye fishing spots on the Winnebago System.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
settlers, and means "Hill of the Dead", in reference to a nearby Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
burial mound
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
.