RAINY LAKE

Earliest documentation of the lake's name is "Tekamamiwen" shown as "Lac de Tecamamiouen" on the Ochagach map c. 1728, as "Lac Tacamamioüer" on the 1739 de l'Isle map, as "Lake Tecamaniouen" on the 1757 Mitchell Map and as "Lake Tekamamigovouen" on the Thomas Jefferys' 1762 Map of Canada. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye cites that the name was a corruption from the Cree "taki-kimiwen", meaning "It always is raining", referring to the Rainy River, though the language does not quite support that claim. He also cites that the lake was also known as "Ouichichick" Ojibwe word Gojijiing or Cree Kocicīhk, both meaning "at the place of inlets". Early documents lists the portion of Rainy Lake east of the Brule Narrows as "Cristinaux Cree Lake"or as "Little Lake."
Recreation on Rainy Lake
Voyageurs National Park
On Rainy Lake, Voyageurs National Park maintains an extensive network of over boat-in camping sites, hiking trails, and designated snowmobile trails for winter use.
Fishing
The lake is popular for sport and recreational fishing for species such as Walleye, Northern pike, Muskellunge, Largemouth and Smallmouth bass, which are all considered excellent freshwater sportfish. Rainy Lake is home to the annual Canadian Bass Championship, which has occurred every summer since 1996. The lake is dotted with many small islands on both the Canadian and American sides; they are the sites of numerous fishing cabins, small fishing resorts, and vacation homes. Tourism is an important part of the local economy.
Governance
The level of Rainy Lake is controlled at the hydro-electric power houses of the international dam that spans the Rainy River between International Falls and Fort Frances, at two water-control dams located at Kettle Falls where the outflow from Namakan Lake enters Rainy Lake, and at the Sturgeon Falls Generating Station located on the Seine River. The companies that own and operate the powerhouses Boise Inc. on the U.S. side and H2O Power Limited Partnership on the Canadian side are responsible for maintaining lake level and flow changes from the dams within normal ranges, subject to regulatory oversight by the International Rainy Lake Board of Control IRLBC. The IRLBC is a board of the International Joint Commission IJC, which is a bi-national organization created out of the International Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 for the purposes of handling boundary water issues between the United States and Canada.