Lake, northwestern Minnesota, U.S. Occupying an area of 1.
8 sq mi (4.7 sq km), it is located 1,475 ft (450 m) above sea level. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft 's theory that Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi River has been widely accepted. He is generally credited with originating the name Itasca, but Indian legend mentions I-tesk-ka, the daughter of Hiawatha , whose tears of anguish at being spirited away to the netherworld were the source of the Mississippi.