Pelican Lake (Wisconsin)

This article is about the lake. For the unincorporated community, see Pelican Lake, Wisconsin.

Pelican Lake is a 3,585-acre (14.51 km²) lake located in Oneida County in Wisconsin. It has a maximum depth of 39 ft (12 m). Visitors have access to the lake from five public boat landings. A dam is located on the lake's primary outlet, which feeds into the Pelican River. Pelican Lake serves as one of 21 reservoirs used to regulate and maintain optimal water flow on the Wisconsin and Tomahawk rivers, the process of which is facilitated in part by the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company.^[3][4]

Pelican Lake
Gaa-wabaataawangaag-zaaga'igan (Ojibwe)
Looking northwest at Pelican Lake
Pelican Lake Show map of Wisconsin Pelican Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Oneida County, Wisconsin
Coordinates	45.504127°N 89.203453°W / 45.504127; -89.203453
Type	Drainage
Primary outflows	Pelican River
Catchment area	Pelican River Watershed, Upper Wisconsin Basin[1]
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	3,585 acres (14.51 km2)
Max. depth	39 ft (12 m)
Water volume	2.175 billion cubic feet (61.6×10^6 m3)[2]
Shore length1	13 mi (21 km)
Surface elevation	1,591 ft (485 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Fish inhabiting the lake include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. The lake's water clarity has historically been low, and its bottom composition is 40% sand, 20% gravel, 10% rock, 30% muck. The lake is eutrophic. Several invasive species are or have been found in the lake, including banded mystery snail, Chinese mystery snail, curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian water-milfoil, purple loosestrife, and rusty crayfish.^[5]

Pelican Lake was named for the American white pelicans seen there.^[6] In the Ojibwe language, the lake goes by either Zhede-zaaga'igan (pelican lake) or more commonly as Gaa-wabaataawangaag-zaaga'igan (place where there is a sandy narrows lake).