Iowa Great Lakes
Template:Short description Template:Use American English
Template:Infobox body of water
The Iowa Great Lakes, often referred to as Okoboji,<ref name="vacationokoboji.com">Template:Cite web</ref> is a group of natural lakes in northwestern Iowa in the United States. There are seven lakes in the region totaling Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with the three principal lakes of the group being Big Spirit Lake,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> West Okoboji Lake,<ref>Template:GNIS</ref> and East Okoboji Lake.<ref>Template:GNIS</ref><ref name=usgs>Okoboji, Milford, Spirit Lake, and Spirit Lake SE, Iowa; 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1970</ref> They are the largest natural lakes in the state of Iowa. The largest, Spirit Lake, is 5,684 acres (2,300 ha).<ref name="vacationokoboji.com"/> The lake area extends to the north into Jackson County, Minnesota. The headwaters of Little Sioux River flow past the west side of the lake area.<ref name=usgs/>
History
The area around the Iowa Great Lakes was not known for permanent settlement by the Sioux but rather for recreation or hunting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When settlers arrived around 1856 it led to conflicts and eventually the Spirit Lake Massacre in 1857.
After the massacre, European settlers slowly returned and by 1900 nearly 8,000 people were living in the area. The Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District was created in 1939 to protect the lakes from pollution and sanitary issues.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Likewise, the Iowa Great Lakes Association was formed in 2008 when the waters were threatened by a large commercial agricultural development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
The Iowa Great Lakes region was formed 13,500 years ago along the southwest edge of the Des Moines lobe ice sheet as it pressed south into Iowa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The deepest part of the lake is Template:Convert in West Okoboji Lake.
The Iowa Great Lakes lie within the Spirit Lake Micropolitan Area<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the towns of Spirit Lake and Milford are within the lake area.<ref name=usgs/>