Lake Itasca-Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Lake Itasca, left, CCC rocks, Mississippi River, right

"From this point (Lake Bemidji) the ascent of the 
Mississippi River was due south; and it was finally 
found to have its origin in a handsome lake, of 
some seven miles extant, on the height of land to 
which I gave the name Itasca."--Henry Schoolcraft, 
1832, discoverer of the headwaters, with Ozawindib, 
the expedition's Ojibwe guide

It looked quite different back then.  In 1832 
Schoolcraft saw a respectable stream 20 feet 
wide and about two feet deep, nestled in an old 
growth evergreen forest.  But by the early 
20th century severe logging had so changed the 
lay of the land all that greeted intrepid tourists 
was a muddy mess.  The 1930s Civilian 
Conservation Corps changed that by hauling 
in sand and boulders to create a more winsome 
beginning.  And winsome it is. 

                            Headwaters looking northeast 

   
                          Mississippi River 100 feet from headwaters

     
                            Lake Itasca, from Mississippi River