DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA. 7 
Mud flats, very soft and yielding, with underlying black soil, fringe- 
its southern extremity and sustain tall rushes and cat-tails, at the 
water’s edge two years ago, but now 15 feet or more from the 
shore line. All remaining shore, where not lined with rushes or soft 
yielding mud, has a gravelly beach. A species of waterweed 
(Ruppia maritima) is found growing uniformly throughout the bay. 
Fresh water from Court or Spring Lake, one-eighth mile distant, 
seeps through the rushes into the southern end of this bay. The 
density of the water was found to be 1.0058, the temperature 68° F. 
_ This, perhaps, is the best part of the main section for the intro- 
duction of suitable fish, owing to its protection from storms, its 
narrow entrance easily guarded by a gate, the character of its bot- 
tom, the depth, and the seepage of fresh water from the neighboring 
Court or Spring Lake. A supply of young large-mouthed black bass 
and catfish were introduced here during the investigation. 
EASTERN SECTION. 
Devils Lake, south of Lake and Minnewaukan townships, presents 
the same conditions as appear in the section just described. It is 
of an irregular shape, its length from the southern extremity of 
Roque Island to Lamoreau Bridge is approximately 15 miles, and 
its greatest breadth 3 miles. 
In general the bottom is muddy and at a uniform depth of 12 
feet. The eastern portion is rapidly shoaling, and it was only with 
difficulty that the passage could be made with a gasoline launch 
drawing about 15 inches of water. Soft black mud, bearing a 
growth of weeds that continually checked the progress of the boat, 
was found to extend from shore to shore east of the Odessa Township 
line. 
Minnows and sticklebacks (Pimephales promelas and Eucalia in- 
constans) constitute the fish life and afford a plenteous supply of 
food for the great flocks of sea gulls and terns. Many species of 
ducks are numerous. 
Temperature and salinity observations were made at frequent 
intervals, but no essential variation noted. The surface tempera- 
ture averaged 70° F., the density 1.009. 
LAMOREAU BAY, 
This is a beautiful sheet of water extending in a southeasterly 
direction for 6 miles, with a maximum width of about 2 miles. The 
shore line does not exhibit the irregularities of other sections. The 
density of the water was 1.008, the temperature 70° F. 
42005—08——2 
