Otter Tail Lake

Otter Tail Lake
Location	Minnesota
Primary inflows	Otter Tail River, Dead River
Primary outflows	Otter Tail River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	21 sq mi
Max. depth	120 ft
Settlements	Ottertail, Minnesota

Otter Tail Lake is a 21 square mile lake in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the largest lake in Otter Tail County.

Geography

Adjoining the city of Ottertail, it is a part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. Upstream from the lake are Big Pine, Little Pine and Rush lakes, while downstream are East Lost, West Lost and Deer lakes.The maximum depth is 120 feet but 57% of the lake is 15 feet deep or less. The shore of the lake and at least the shallower areas are composed of sand and gravel, unlike many of the muddy-bottom lakes in the area. The water clarity is 10.5 feet, which is considered good and is certainly better than many of the smaller lakes in the area around Otter Tail. The most prominent feature of Otter Tail is the "point" which essentially divides the lake into eastern and western halves.

Otter Tail lake is ringed with a tall tree line, mostly deciduous but also coniferous. In general, the tree line starts around 100 meters from the shore and acts as a windbreak, keeping the shoreline calm compared to the center of the lake. In 2005 a tornado hit the northern side of the lake, doing considerable damage to the tree-line there.

The waters of Otter Tail Lake ultimately flow north into Hudson Bay through the Red River of the North.

Recreation

It is a recreational destination, with the majority of its shores surrounded by residential and commercial development. The lake is known for fishing; walleye and Northern pike are most prevalent and the most sought after by anglers. The lake is also a popular destination for boating, power-boats and jet-skis, but also sailing. Because of the lake's large size, winds can pick up enough in the center of the lake for fairly challenging sailing. The heyday of sailing on the lake was the late 1960s through the mid 1980s, when the lake held annual sailing races. Especially popular at this time was the hobie cat.