Lake Butte des Morts

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See also: Little Lake Butte des Morts

Big Lake Butte des Morts
Birds flying over the lake
Location	Wisconsin
Primary inflows	Fox River, Wolf River
Primary outflows	Fox River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	8,800 acres (36 km²)
Average depth	9 feet (3 m)

Much of the Winnebago Pool from space, July 1996. Lake Winnebago is in the center, with Lake Butte des Morts just to the right of the center of the lake. Lake Winnebago runs along a roughly north-south line, with the south end of the lake being toward the top of this image. Oshkosh can be seen as the lighter area between the lakes.

Big Lake Butte des Morts (pronounced /ˌbjuːdəˈmɔər/^[1]) is an 8,800-acre (36 km²) lake located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and is part of the Winnebago Pool (also known as the Winnebago System). The lake is fed by the Fox River in the southwest and the Wolf River draining from Lake Winneconne in the northwest, and drains via the Fox River southeast into Lake Winnebago. Much of the lake is flooded marshland created by the damming of the Fox River downstream in Menasha in the 1800s, which helps explain the lake's flat and shallow character (the lake maximum dept is 9 ft). U.S. Route 41 has a bridge through the lake. The city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin lies between Lake Butte des Morts and Lake Winnebago.

Big Lake Butte des Morts is popular among both fishermen and recreational boaters during the warm weather months, and with ice fishermen in the winter. A marked navigation channel facilitates passage across the lake from the inflow of the Wolf River to the west (connecting to Lake Poygan), 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, a smaller alke to the north downstream of the Winnebago Pool. Big Lake Butte des Morts served as part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway.

A variety of fish species can be found in the lake including walleye, drum, white bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, carp, flathead and channel catfish, northern pike, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill and sturgeon. Sunset Point, located near the U.S. Highway 41 bridge, is one of the most popular walleye fishing spots on the entire Winnebago System. The 4-lane divided freeway bridge carrying US-41 across the lake, consists primarily of a causeway dissecting the east end of the lake.