Map showing study lakes.

The box identifies the area where dams regulate water movements from Namakan Lake into Rainy Lake. These dams also determine water levels in Lake Kabetogama and Sand Point Lake, which both flow into Namakan Lake. Lake Vermilion is upstream of the Namakan complex and its water levels are not influenced by water level management at these dams. Rainy Lake eventually drains into the Lake of the Woods, but water level changes at these dams do not have an influence on water level in the Lake of the Woods.