Cormorant Lake (Minnesota)

Big Cormorant Lake is located in northwestern Minnesota's Becker County, about an hour's drive due east of the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota metropolitan area. Public access boat ramps are located on the northeast and west sides of the Lake.

Cormorant Lake
Big Cormorant Lake
Cormorant Lake Show map of Minnesota Cormorant Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Becker County, Minnesota
Group	Cormorant Lakes
Coordinates	46°44′30″N 96°06′14″W
Type	Lake
Etymology	Cormorant, bird species
Primary outflows	Spring Creek
Basin countries	United States
Managing agency	Minnesota DNR
Max. length	3.5 mi (6 km)
Max. width	2.5 mi (4 km)
Surface area	3,657 acres (1,480 ha)
Average depth	30 feet (9.1 m)
Max. depth	75 ft (23 m)
Salinity	Freshwater
Shore length1	18.7 mi (30 km)
Surface elevation	1,158 ft (353 m)
Frozen	5 Months
Islands	1
Sections/sub-basins	Pikes Bay, Blue Water Bay, Glyndon Bay, Spring Creek Bay, Nelson Bay, Viking Bay
Settlements	Cormorant Township
Website	bigcormorantlake.org
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The lake was named after the cormorant, a common bird species in the region.^[1] In 2015, the lake was discovered to be infested with zebra mussels, which threatens neighboring lakes. Cormorant Lake is situated near the towns of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Lake Park, Minnesota, Audubon, Minnesota and the Cormorant Township.

History

The land that Big Cormorant Lake sits on was originally occupied by the Chippewa (Ojibwe), and the Sioux Native tribes.^[2] The Cormorant Township was established on February 26, 1872, and the name Cormorant is translated from the original Ojibway name of the lake.^[3] In 1867, a treaty was signed establishing the White Earth Reservation, a large tract of land in the northern part of Becker County, to be home for the Chippewa Indians.^[2]

Attractions and activities

Some of the most popular attractions on Big Cormorant Lake are restaurants. Cormorant Pub and Boat House, Parallel 46, Zorbaz on Pelican Lake, the Roadhouse, and Pit 611 offer lake residents food and entertainment. Boutique shopping is also available in Cormorant Village.

Founded in 1903, YMCA Camp Cormorant is one of the oldest overnight camps in the entire nation and continues to be a tremendous learning experience for children and teens. The camp is nestled on 80 acres (32 ha) of wooded property with an extensive beach front on Big Cormorant Lake. Boating, sailing, and fishing are the most common activities on Cormorant Lake. Other activities on Big Cormorant include swimming, kayaking, wakesurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding and standup paddleboarding during the summer, as well as ice fishing and snowmobiling during the winter.

In media

Cormorant Village went viral for electing a dog named Duke as Mayor for four terms.^[4] Duke was a Great Pyrenees and passed away on Feb 21, 2019.^[5][6]

A popular YouTube channel named CBOYSTV films is headquartered at Cormorant Lake. CBoysTV is an American comedy and motorsports channel run by five guys. Their channel has amassed over 2.2 million subscribers.^[7]

Wildlife

Fish to catch

Source: MN DNR^[8]

• Black Bullhead
• Black Crappie
• Bluegill
• Brown Bullhead
• Carp
• Green Sunfish
• Hybrid Sunfish
• Largemouth Bass
• Northern Pike
• Pumpkinseed
• Rock Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Walleye
• White Sucker
• Yellow Bullhead
• Yellow Perch

Invasive species

Zebra Mussel

• Zebra Mussel^[9]
• Eurasian Milfoil
• Spiny waterflea
• Starry Stonewort^[10]

Climate

Because of its location in the Great Plains and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Cormorant Lake has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa/Dfb), featuring long, bitterly cold winters and warm to hot, humid summers. Summers have frequent thunderstorms, and the warmest month of the year is July.^[11]

Temperature and precipitation

Climate data for Detroit Lakes, Minnesota (8 Miles West of Cormorant Lake)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	55 (13)	59 (15)	74 (23)	98 (37)	97 (36)	100 (38)	107 (42)	101 (38)	98 (37)	90 (32)	72 (22)	60 (16)	107 (42)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	19 (−7)	26 (−3)	37 (3)	56 (13)	69 (21)	78 (26)	82 (28)	81 (27)	71 (22)	56 (13)	38 (3)	22 (−6)	52.9 (11.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	−2 (−19)	3 (−16)	17 (−8)	31 (−1)	45 (7)	55 (13)	60 (16)	58 (14)	47 (8)	35 (2)	21 (−6)	5 (−15)	31.3 (−0.4)
Record low °F (°C)	−45 (−43)	−46 (−43)	−40 (−40)	−11 (−24)	15 (−9)	28 (−2)	33 (1)	32 (0)	17 (−8)	1 (−17)	−28 (−33)	−41 (−41)	−46 (−43)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.76 (19)	0.57 (14)	1.15 (29)	1.54 (39)	2.97 (75)	4.41 (112)	4.03 (102)	3.67 (93)	3.02 (77)	2.50 (64)	1.10 (28)	0.64 (16)	26.36 (670)
Source: usclimatedata.com[12]

Ice In - Out

Source: Archived site of Big Cormorant^[13]

1980s Year Out In 1980 N/A N/A 1981 N/A N/A 1982 N/A N/A 1983 N/A N/A 1984 N/A Dec 1 1985 April 21 Nov 20 1986 April 18 Nov 18 1987 April 13 Dec 2 1988 April 18 Nov 26 1989 April 19 Nov 23

1990s Year Out In 1990 April 5 Dec 1 1991 April 19 Dec 23 1992 N/A N/A 1993 N/A N/A 1994 N/A N/A 1995 April 22 Nov 24 1996 April 20 Nov 18 1997 May 4 Nov 24 1998 April 12 Dec 19 1999 April 17 N/A

2000s Year Out In 2000 April 5 Dec 1 2001 April 29 Dec 19 2002 April 18 Nov 25 2003 April 15 Nov 29 2004 April 19 Dec 13 2005 April 15–17 Dec 1 2006 April 13 Nov 30 2007 April 26 Dec 4 2008 May 7 Nov 28 2009 April 29 Dec 5

2010s Year Out In 2010 April 3 Nov 27 2011 April 29 Dec 5 2012 March 25 Dec 5 2013 N/A N/A 2014 N/A N/A 2015 April 16 Dec 21 2016 April 6 Dec 10 2017 April 8 Dec 7 2018 May 3 Nov 19 2019 May 2 Dec 4

2020s Year Out In 2020 April 29 Dec 15 2021 April 7 Dec 7 2022 May 8 Nov 19 2023 May 8 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029

Neighboring lakes

• Leaf Lake (Becker County Minnesota)
• Pelican Lake (Otter Tail County, Minnesota)
• Little Cormorant Lake
• Middle Cormorant Lake
• Upper Cormorant Lake
• Lake Ida
• Lake Maud
• Lake Nelson

Adjacent townships

• Cormorant Township (south)
• Lake Park Township (north)
• Audubon Township (northeast)
• Lake Eunice Township (east)
• Dunn Township, Otter Tail County (southeast)
• Scambler Township, Otter Tail County (south)
• Tansem Township, Clay County (southwest)
• Parke Township, Clay County (west)
• Eglon Township, Clay County (northwest)

See also

• List of lakes in Minnesota