Itasca

i-tas'ka, a small lake in northern Minnesota. It is the source of the Mississippi. It was discovered by H. R. Schoolcraft and the Reverend W. T. Boutwell in 1832. The latter states that they coined the name from "Veritas caput," bad Latin for "the true head." By cutting off the first syllable and the last, a word was left having an Indian sound. The lake occupies a heart-shaped depression in the glacial drift which covers the country. Its area is only 1,130 acres. The river is about twenty feet wide and a foot deep, as it issues from the northern point. The southern end of the lake divides into two arms. A number of brooks and springs keep the water at a permanent stage. The surrounding bluffs are perhaps from twenty to 100 feet in height. The region is covered with tamarack swamps, hazel brush, and poplar and pine forests. Minnesota has set aside thirty-five square miles as a state park. A hotel has been built for the entertainment of tourists. A canoe trip from Lake Itasca down the river is quite practicable. The lake is from four to sixty feet deep. Schoolcraft Island of a few acres occupies the center. See Mississippi River