Lac Courte Oreilles (/ləˈkuːdəreɪ/ lə-KOO-də-ray)[1] is a large freshwater lake located in northwest Wisconsin in Sawyer County in townships 39 and 40 north, ranges 8 and 9 west.

Lac Courte Oreilles is 5,039 acres (20.39 km2) in size with a maximum depth of 90 feet (27 m) and a shoreline of 25.4 miles (40.9 km).

An alternative explanation is that some tribes in the region had a practice of distending their earlobes by earrings or other ornaments, and the local people's ears looked short in contrast.

But the Indians of the Lac Courte Oreilles area did not practice that custom and had naturally shaped "short" ears.

He reported staying at the Indian village on Lac Courte Oreilles (he referred to it as Ottowaw Lakes) from June 22 through 29, 1767.

The 19th-century United States Indian agent in this area, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, visited the lake and Ottawa village in 1831.

[10] Schoolcraft visited the Indian village on Lac Courte Oreilles and described it as being located at the outlet of the lake.