Солтүстік Дакотадағы Дьявол көлі

the lake
Lake in North Dakota, United States

Devils Lake is a lake in the U. S. state of North Dakota. It is the largest natural body of water and the second largest body of water in North Dakota after Lake Sakakawea. It can reach a level of 444.40 m before naturally flowing into the Sheyenne River via the Tolna Coulee. On June 27, 2011, it reached an unofficial historical high elevation of 443.27 m. The cities of Devils Lake and Minnewaukan take their name from the lake as does the Spirit Lake Reservation, which is located on the lake's southern shores.

The present site of Devils Lake is historically territory of the Dakota people. The Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Cut Head bands of Dakotas were relocated to the Spirit Lake Reservation as a result of the 1867 treaty with the United States that established a reservation for Dakotas who had not been forcibly relocated to Crow Creek Reservation in what is now called South Dakota. The name "Devils Lake" is a calque of the Dakota words mni (water) wak'áŋ (literally "pure source", also translated as "spirit" or "sacred"). The Dakota consider it holy because they believe it is the home of the underwater serpent Unktehi. The Dakota name is reflected in the name of the Spirit Lake Tribe and the nearby town of Minnewaukan. European American settlers mistranslated the name to mean "Bad Spirit Lake", or "Devils Lake". and the Hidatsa name is mirixubaash ("sacred water").

Devils Lake is located in Ramsey County and Benson County in northeastern North Dakota. The Spirit Lake Tribe occupies most of the southern shore and has been adversely affected by flooding since the 1990s.

Devils Lake is the endorheic, or closed, lake of a drainage basin of some , the Devils Lake Basin. The lake collects around 86 percent of the basin's water runoff. Above an elevation of 441.05 m AMSL, the lake spills into neighboring Stump Lake. At 444.40 m, the combined lake flows naturally into the Sheyenne River, though the lake has not reached this level in approximately 1,000 years. The Sheyenne River is a tributary to the Red River, which flows into Canada, with eventual exit into the Hudson Bay. Lower water levels increase salinity threatening fish and wildlife. with large swings between low and high water levels. This owes in large part to its nature as a closed basin lake, lacking a natural outlet. The release of water is dependent upon evaporation and seepage. In addition, the diversion of natural water flows is also considered to have contributed to the flooding. Future climate as projected by 17 different global climate models indicates overall increase in both precipitation and temperature in the Devils Lake region leading to the lake's overspill probability (24–47% without the outlet and 3.5–14.4% with the full capacity outlet) into the nearby Sheyenne River. In response to the flooding, the U. S. Congress directed the Army Corps of Engineers to research construction of an outlet in 1997 to control the lake level through methods other than evaporation or natural overflow. The state of North Dakota objected to the cost and certain water quality provisions of the plan, and declined to participate in construction of the Corps' outlet. The National Weather Service is the official federal government agency responsible for observing and predicting water levels at Devils Lake.

Devils Lake has been known for a long time for fishing and other watersports. It has been named the perch capital of the world. There are a number of boat ramps and other facilities around the lake to facilitate recreational activities on the lake. Recreation in the form of open water and ice fishing is estimated to have generated more than $20 million annually. White Horse Hill National Game Preserve is located on the lake's southern shore. Grahams Island State Park is located on an island in the lake. Other parks on the lake include Black Tiger State Recreation Area and Shelvers Grove State Recreation Area, which is now closed due to the lake's flooding.

During the most recent wet cycle which began in 1993, the lake rose over 8.08 m, inundating of primarily agricultural land. This required the expenditure of more than $400 million in flood protection measures. Some stakeholders argued for construction of an emergency outlet into the Sheyenne River, which is a tributary of the Red River of the North. The Army Corps of Engineers proposed to draw water from a different point of the lake, provide filtration, and discharge a maximum of of water from Devil's Lake, in order to lessen dependence on overflow or evaporation to reduce water levels. The Corps of Engineers estimated its project costs to amount to $186.5 million, with the United States Congress designating $100 million to the project; North Dakota would have paid the remaining amount. Construction began in 2003 and was completed as of summer 2005. The state outlet project was opposed by the governments of Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada. They argue the outlet would create the potential for the transfer of unknown foreign aquatic species and high levels of sulfates into the Red River basin, an important agricultural area, and Lake Winnipeg, the world's 10th largest freshwater lake. In March 2004, Manitoba, along with Minnesota and several environmental groups, sued the North Dakota Department of Health in state court over the Devils Lake Outlet 402 NDPDES Permit. The court ruled the outlet could proceed in August 2004 and May 2005. The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 established an intermediary, the International Joint Commission (IJC), through which the United States and Canada can solve cross boundary water disputes, but the commission has no power to act without invocation by both nations. Canada attempted to invoke the IJC for purposes of conflict resolution, but the United States did not, effectively preventing the IJC from taking part in the controversy. The Government of Canada argues that the diversion by the state, without consultation or approval from Canada, is a violation of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and Canada's national sovereignty. The U. S. government contends the diversion will not be harmful, nor will it violate the treaty under current conditions. In November 2005, a joint United States and Canadian study concluded that none of the 13 species Canada classifies as invasive were present in Devils Lake. The study did find three species of fish parasites that are not currently known to exist in Lake Winnipeg (to which the Red River flows). However, all three are ubiquitous to the waters of North America and have a wide variety of hosts. A difficulty inherent in determining what species are in Devils Lake versus Lake Winnipeg results from spatial relationships and scale. Lake Winnipeg covers approximately , dozens of times as large as Devils Lake. In addition, the Devils Lake Basin is significantly smaller than the watersheds feeding Lake Winnipeg, including the Saskatchewan River basin at approximately Drawing conclusions about the biological community already in Lake Winnipeg is difficult, due to the relative lack of biological sampling there compared to that of the smaller Devils Lake.

Due to the rising waters of the Devils Lake and its basin, streams can flow into the Red River Valley or the Devils Lake Basin. The Red River Valley basin contains a "rough fish", the common carp, which the North Dakota Game and Fish Department fears will enter Devils Lake basin waters in the near future, allowing the carp to populate Devils Lake. The carp's fast reproductive growth and the lack of carp predators in the lake will likely help it to dramatically increase in population. This could have drastic consequences for existing populations of game fish, such as the walleye and northern pike, which could greatly harm the sport fishing industry. Some preventive measures have been proposed, including inserting chemicals in the creeks along the boundary of the Devils Lake Basin and the Red River Valley to kill fish. Biologists did tests in 2005 which conclude that there are currently no carp in the Devils Lake Basin, but some have been found within two miles (3 km). The carp appear to have been stalled by the abundant cattail plants, which makes travel impossible for the fish.

Due to the lake's rising waters, the BNSF Railway temporarily suspended freight traffic between Devils Lake and Churchs Ferry, a total of 19 mile (31 km), during 2009–2013. However, Amtrak's Empire Builder continued to operate over this segment. BNSF offered Amtrak the right to instead operate the Empire Builder over the Northern Transcon route, to which freight traffic had been shifted. To compensate for the loss of station stops at Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby, North Dakota that would have been caused by the shift, BNSF suggested that Amtrak add a station stop at New Rockford, North Dakota. However, Amtrak said that they would continue using the line by the lake. In 2010, analysts estimated that Amtrak would soon either have to rebuild the bridge that crosses the lake at Churchs Ferry, or reroute its passenger trains. On June 15, 2011, BNSF and Amtrak agreed to rebuild the rail line, whereby each would cover one third of the cost. The state of North Dakota received a federal TIGER grant to pay for the remaining third. The growth of freight traffic associated with oil from the Bakken formation in this period resulted in BNSF upgrading its assessment of the importance of the Devils Lake line. After the track was rebuilt and raised, through service resumed from Devils Lake to Churchs Ferry.