Saganaga Lake is a large

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

on the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

–

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

. Most of the lake is protected by the

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) comprises of pristine forests, glacial lakes, and streams in the Superior National Forest. Located entirely within the U.S. state of Minnesota at the Boundary Waters, the wilderness are ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and by

Quetico Provincial Park Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, known for its excellent canoe camping, canoeing and fishing. The park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which ...

and

La Verendrye Provincial Park La Verendrye Provincial Park is a waterway provincial park located in Ontario, Canada, on the border with the U.S. state of Minnesota. The park stretches from Quetico Provincial Park through Saganaga Lake, up the Pine River, across the Heig ...

in Canada. A small part of the lake's southern arm is outside the Boundary Waters. Its name comes from an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

term meaning ''Lake of Many Islands''. It is the deepest lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with a maximum depth of and surface area of . It's deepest point is not within the BWCA.''BWCA Superlatives – Setting the Facts Straight'' https://kondosoutdoors.com/bwca-superlatives-setting-the-facts-straight/ Retrieved June 13, 2023 Saganaga is a popular

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

destination, with

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

, and

lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

among others. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has issued a consumption advisory for some fish in Saganaga Lake due to

mercury pollution Mercury is a chemical element; it has symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver. A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure; t ...

. The Lake is the eastern boundary of the historical Hunter Island region. Saganaga Lake is bordered to the south by Seagull Lake, home to

Wilderness Canoe Base Wilderness Canoe Base is a Christian youth camp bordering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Seagull Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail, about 50 miles from Grand Marais, Minnesota. It hosts youth canoe camping trips and work-service ...

. Historic Chik Wauk Lodge, now Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, overlooks the lake.

References

External links

Map of Saganaga Lake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saganaga Protected areas of Cook County, Minnesota Lakes of Rainy River District Lakes of Thunder Bay District Lakes of Minnesota Canada–United States border International lakes of North America Glacial lakes of Canada Glacial lakes of the United States Superior National Forest Lakes of Cook County, Minnesota