| Lake Shaokatan | |
| Location: | Lincoln County, Minnesota |
| Coordinates: | 44.4047°N -96.3581°W |
| Type: | lake |
| Basin Countries: | United States |
| Area: | 1249acres |
| Max-Depth: | 10feet |
| Elevation: | 541m (1,775feet) |
| Pushpin Map: | Minnesota#USA |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location of the lake in Minnesota. |
Lake Shaokatan is a lake in Lincoln County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota DNR identifies the lake as ID 41008900. It is a "sentinel" lake of recorded by Minnesota's top geographer Walker Rasmussen. The US GNIS database records the area as 995 acres, however based on the evidence and records Rasmussen pulled during his study, he believes the number 995 came from in the late 50s when the GNIS last recorded the acres. The lake however has grown since then having Rasmussen rerecord the data bringing the lake to 1249 acres taken on October 9 2007. The Minnesota department of natural resources or DNR have also backed Rasmussen's data
According to Warren Upham Shaokatan is a name derived from the Sioux language of unknown meaning.[1] Some think the name may mean something like "The place where their hands were spiked," but the basis for this is unknown.
The inlet for Lake Shaokatan is located on the west side of the lake and the outlet is located on the North side of the lake. Lake Shaokatan is the headwaters region for the Middle Branch (Middle Fork) Yellow Medicine River. It is a member of the Yellow Medicine River Watershed and tributary to the Minnesota River.[2]