RAINY LAKE

narrow lake astride the Canadian-U.S. border, between Minnesota, U.S., and the Rainy River district of southwestern Ontario, Can. It has an area of 360 square miles (932 square km), is about 50 miles (80 km) long, 35 miles (56 km) of which form the international boundary, and has an average width of 5 miles (8 km) with a maximum of 27 miles (43 km). Its shores are irregular and deeply indented, and it contains more than 500 islands. Drainage is westward through the 85-mile- (137-kilometre-) long Rainy River into Lake of the Woods. Rainy Lake was discovered in 1688 by a French explorer, Jacques de Noyon. A power station on Rainy River just downstream from the lake supplies electricity to the lumber, pulp, and paper milling industries of Fort Frances (Ont.) and International Falls (Minn.). The region is the site of several Indian reservations and is popular for hunting, fishing, and canoeing.