Devils Lake Basin

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By Dakota Water Science Center April 5, 2019

Information and products on the Devils Lake Basin.

The Devils Lake Basin in North Dakota is a 3,810 square-mile closed subbasin in the Red River of the North Basin. About 3,320 square miles of the total 3,810 square miles is tributary to Devils Lake, and the remainder is tributary to East and West Stump Lakes. The Devils Lake Basin contributes naturally to the Red River Basin only when the elevation of Devils Lake is greater than 1,459 feet. At an elevation of about 1,447 feet, Devils Lake begins to spill into the Stump Lakes; and at an elevation of about 1,459 feet, the combined lakes begin to spill through Tolna Coulee into the Sheyenne River, a tributary to the Red River. Devils Lake is characterized by large fluctuations in elevation.

Below are publications associated with this project.

June 21, 2011

Simulation of the effects of Devils Lake outlet alternatives on future lake levels and downstream water quality in the Sheyenne River and Red River of the North

Since 1992, Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota has risen nearly 30 feet, destroying hundreds of homes, inundating thousands of acres of productive farmland, and costing more than $1 billion for road raises, levee construction, and other flood mitigation measures. In 2011, the lake level is expected to rise at least another 2 feet above the historical record set in 2010 (1,452.0 feet above th

Authors

Aldo V. Vecchia

Water Resources Mission Area, Dakota Water Science Center

February 15, 2008

Climate simulation and flood risk analysis for 2008-40 for Devils Lake, North Dakota

Devils Lake and Stump Lake in northeastern North Dakota receive surface runoff from a 3,810-square-mile drainage basin, and evaporation provides the only major water loss unless the lakes are above their natural spill elevation to the Sheyenne River. In September 2007, flow from Devils Lake to Stump Lake had filled Stump Lake and the two lakes consisted of essentially one water body with an elevat

Authors

Aldo V. Vecchia

Water Resources Mission Area, Dakota Water Science Center

November 29, 2006

Water-quality trend analysis and sampling design for the Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota, January 1965 through September 2003

This report presents the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the North Dakota State Water Commission, the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board, and the Red River Joint Water Resource District, to analyze historical water-quality trends in three dissolved major ions, three nutrients, and one dissolved trace element for eight stations in the Devils

Authors

Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia

Water Resources Mission Area, Dakota Water Science Center