Lake Itasca
Itasca, Lake, a lake in northwest-central Minnesota. It is on the Mississippi River, 150 miles (240 km) west of Duluth. Its name may have been coined from the Latin verITAS CAput (“the true head”) by Henry Schoolcraft, who explored the area in 1832. He identified it as the Mississippi River's source. The lake covers two square miles (5 km2). It is the largest of 157 lakes in Itasca State Park.