| Lake Namakagon | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bayfield County, Wisconsin near Cable, Wisconsin |
| Lake type | Glacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Namakagon River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Average depth | 38 ft (13 yd) |
| Max. depth | 51 ft (17 yd) |
| Water volume | 52,032 acre feet (64,181,000 m3) |
| Shore length1 | 43.67 mi (70 km) |
| Islands | Paines Island, Anderson Island |
| Settlements | Namakagon, Wisconsin |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Namakagon (pronounced NAM-uh-KAH-gun) is a large freshwater lake located in the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. The lake derives it's name from the Ojibwe language, and it means "Lake abundant with sturgeons. There are several restaurants and resorts located on Lake Namakagon, including, among several others, Lakewoods, and Telemark Pointe. Restaurants include Pla-Mor, and the Loon Saloon, plus the nearby Cable Nature Lodge.
Fish species include bluegill, sunfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, northern pike, and walleye. Namakagon is a premier muskellunge lake.
There are several natural islands in the lake including;
Like most of the northern Wisconsin virgin white pine forest, this area was logged heavily during the timber boom years from post Civil War days through about 1925. The Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha and Northwestern Railroad arrived nearby in 1880 delivering timber and tourists. Logging has given way to tourism as primary economic driver. Area forests are temperate deciduous forest containing of many varieties trees and other vegetation. white spruce, and coniferous trees.
From the early 1830s through 1886, a Native American made his home on the lake. Known locally as Chief Namakagon, he became legend due to Ashland Daily Press articles about him trading chards of silver for supplies. His secret source for the silver was never discovered and people still search for it today. A Smashwords ebook, The Treasure of Namakagon, details his story.