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Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed

Drainage basin in Michigan, United States

Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed
Summary

Drainage basin in Michigan, United States

The Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed, commonly known as the Chain of Lakes, is a 75 mi waterway consisting of numerous lakes and connecting rivers in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The watershed empties via the Elk River in Elk Rapids into the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan.

The watershed includes 500 sqmi in Antrim, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, and Kalkaska counties. The watershed includes a series of 14 lakes and interconnecting rivers. From the uppermost lake in the chain, Beals Lake in Echo Township, Antrim County, the water flows 55 mi and drops 40 ft in elevation. It has over 200 mi of shoreline and almost 60 sqmi of water surface area.

Geography

Torch Lake]] is the second-largest and deepest inland lake in Michigan.

The chain of lakes system begins with the upper stage of the Intermediate River, which rises in hill country at in the northwest corner of Chestonia Township in central Antrim County. From here, the waterway traverses a number of small lakes flowing north, then making a sharp turn near the village of Ellsworth, flows south through a narrow valley, paralleling the tracks of the Pere Marquette Railroad, until emptying into Intermediate Lake. The outlet of Intermediate Lake converges with the Cedar River in the village of Bellaire, gaining considerable volume. Now a river of substantial flow, it continues south into 1700 acre Lake Bellaire. Leaving the lake, the stream becomes the Grass River, winding for some 2 mi through the scenic Grass River Natural Area before emptying into Clam Lake. Clam Lake in turn empties directly into Torch Lake. At over 18000 acre in size, Torch Lake is the largest body of water in the system. The waterway, now clarified after traversing the immense depths of the lake, continues south through the Torch River, joins with the Rapid River, a major tributary, and empties into Lake Skegemog, a 2500 acre lake that is studded with large stump fields, the result of the flooding of timberlands when the lake level was raised several feet by the construction of the dam at the terminus of the system. Lake Skegemog, which is the meeting point of Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Antrim counties, is conjoined at its western end to 7700 acre Elk Lake, the second-largest and final lake in the system. The outflow of Elk Lake, the Elk River, flows a short distance to a power dam in the town of Elk Rapids, then out into the east arm of the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan at . For most of its length, the chain is navigable by small boat, broken up only by a dam in Bellaire. Larger boats are able to navigate between Elk Rapids and Torch Lake.

History

Various tribes of primarily Ojibwa Native Americans inhabited the region when the first white settlers began to arrive in the middle of the 19th century to attempt farming. The thin soils and short, cool summers made traditional farming difficult, and the region remained sparsely settled until the 1880s, when lumber interests began exploiting the region's vast tracts of white pine forests. The waterway provided an excellent means of transporting logs down to sawmills located along the way. The arrival of the railroads in the 1890s accelerated lumbering and other economic activities, and brought in visitors from distant places, who marveled at the natural beauty of lakes and rivers of the chain, turning it into a major destination for vacationers from downstate and elsewhere. Scores of resorts cropped up on the shorelines of all the major lakes of the system, catering to fisherman and wild-life enthusiasts. By 1910, the lumber era had all but passed, and many once prosperous towns and villages in the area went into decline. Many of the region's farmers, having failed to get decent yields of traditional crops, either moved on, or turned to cultivation of fruit crops, most notably cherries, as the area's sandy soil and cool lake climate were found to be favorable for growing such produce. Fruit farming and tourism became, and remain, the leading economic activities of the region. The chain is also a recreational hub, including boating and the Chain of Lakes Water Trail, hosted by Paddle Antrim.

Rivers and lakes in the watershed

The 14 lakes (numbered) and connecting waterways in the chain of lakes are highlighted in bold. Other tributaries are in normal text

  • Elk River
      1. Elk Lake
      • Williamsburg Creek
        • Bissell Pond
          • Bissell Creek
      • Battle Creek
        1. Lake Skegemog
        • Barker Creek
        • Desmond Creek
        • Torch River
          • Rapid River
            • Rugg Pond (also known as Antrim Pond)
              • Little Rapid River
            1. Torch Lake
            • Spencer Creek
            • Eastport Creek
            • Wilkinson Creek (also Wilkenson Creek)
              1. Clam Lake
              • Finch Creek
                • Crow Creek
              • Grass River
                • Cold Creek
                • Shanty Creek
                  1. Lake Bellaire
                  • Grass Creek
                  • Intermediate River
                    • Cedar River
                      • Blair Lake
                      • North Branch Cedar River
                      • Woolcott Creek
                      1. Intermediate Lake
                      • Openo Creek
                      • Fisk Creek
                        1. Hanley Lake
                        • Green River
                          • Ogletree Creek
                            • Kitty Ann Creek
                            • Toad Lake
                              • Toad Creek
                                • Mud Lake
                                  • Little Torch Lake
                            1. Ben-way Lake
                            • Benway Creek
                              1. Wilson Lake
                              • Vonstraten Creek
                                • King Creek
                                • Eaton Lake
                                1. Ellsworth Lake
                                • Skinner Creek
                                  • Skinner Lake
                                  • Marion Creek
                                  1. St. Clair Lake
                                  • St. Clair Creek
                                    • Lyman Creek
                                      • Lymans Lake (also Lyman Lake)
                                    1. Sixmile Lake
                                    • Liscon Creek
                                      • Ranney Creek
                                    • Vance Creek
                                    • Dingman River
                                      • Smith Creek
                                        1. Scotts Lake
                                        • Beal Creek
                                          1. Beals Lake
                                          • Intermediate River
                                            • Spence Creek
                                            • Taylor Creek
                                            • Seamon Creek
                                            • Hitchcock Creek

Cities, villages, and townships in the watershed

The Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed includes all or portions of the following cities, villages, and townships:

  • Antrim County
    • Banks Township
    • Bellaire
    • Central Lake
    • Central Lake Township
    • Chestonia Township
    • Custer Township
    • Echo Township
    • Ellsworth
    • Elk Rapids
    • Forest Home Township
    • Helena Township
    • Kearney Township
    • Mancelona Township
    • Milton Township
    • Star Township
    • Torch Lake Township
    • Warner Township
  • Charlevoix County
    • Marion Township
    • Norwood Township
    • South Arm Township
  • Grand Traverse County
    • Whitewater Township
  • Kalkaska County
    • Clearwater Township
    • Cold Springs Township
    • Kalkaska
    • Kalkaska Township
    • Rapid River Township
  • Otsego County
    • Elmira Township

References

References

  1. "Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed Project – CMI".
  2. [http://www.watershedcouncil.org/water%20resources/local%20watersheds/elk%20river%20watershed/files/Elk%20River%20Chain%20of%20Lakes%20-%202010%20Lake%20Profil.pdf Elk River Chain of Lakes] {{webarchive. link. (2011-07-28 , 2010 Report, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council)
  3. {{cite gnis. 629056. Intermediate River
  4. {{cite gnis. 625460. Elk River
  5. "Chain of Lakes Water Trail".
  6. "Chain of Lakes - Water Trail".
  7. {{cite gnis. 1617384. Elk Lake
  8. {{cite gnis. 1616513. Williamsburg Creek
  9. {{cite gnis. 621464. Bissell Pond
  10. {{cite gnis. 621463. Bissell Creek
  11. {{cite gnis. 620757. Battle Creek
  12. {{cite gnis. 638052. Lake Skegemog
  13. {{cite gnis. 620606. Barker Creek
  14. {{cite gnis. 624578. Desmond Creek
  15. {{cite gnis. 1614973. Torch River
  16. {{cite gnis. 635650. Rapid River
  17. {{cite gnis. 1623091. Rugg Pond
  18. {{cite gnis. 630747. Little Rapid River
  19. {{cite gnis. 1614970. Torch Lake
  20. {{cite gnis. 638498. Spencer Creek
  21. {{cite gnis. 625302. Eastport Creek
  22. {{cite gnis. 1616484. Wilkinson Creek
  23. {{cite gnis. 623327. Clam Lake
  24. {{cite gnis. 625951. Finch Creek
  25. {{cite gnis. 624136. Crow Creek
  26. {{cite gnis. 627223. Grass River
  27. {{cite gnis. 623556. Cold Creek
  28. {{cite gnis. 637662. Shanty Creek
  29. {{cite gnis. 621049. Lake Bellaire
  30. {{cite gnis. 1618828. Grass Creek
  31. {{cite gnis. 622946. Cedar River
  32. {{cite gnis. 621560. Blair Lake
  33. {{cite gnis. 633497. North Branch Cedar River
  34. {{cite gnis. 1616815. Woolcott Creek
  35. {{cite gnis. 629055. Intermediate Lake
  36. {{cite gnis. 2100234. Openo Creek
  37. {{cite gnis. 626085. Fisk Creek
  38. {{cite gnis. 627728. Hanley Lake
  39. {{cite gnis. 1623147. Green River
  40. {{cite gnis. 633962. Ogletree Creek
  41. {{cite gnis. 629776. Kitty Ann Creek
  42. {{cite gnis. 1614892. Toad Lake
  43. {{cite gnis. 1614890. Toad Creek
  44. {{cite gnis. 633012. Mud Lake
  45. {{cite gnis. 630429. Little Torch Lake
  46. {{cite gnis. 621081. Ben-way Lake
  47. {{cite gnis. 621148. Benway Creek
  48. {{cite gnis. 1616583. Wilson Lake
  49. {{cite gnis. 1615625. Vonstraten Creek
  50. {{cite gnis. 629690. King Creek
  51. {{cite gnis. 625312. Eaton Lake
  52. {{cite gnis. 625499. Ellsworth Lake
  53. {{cite gnis. 638062. Skinner Creek
  54. {{cite gnis. 638067. Skinner Lake
  55. {{cite gnis. 1618829. Marion Creek
  56. {{cite gnis. 636598. St. Clair Lake
  57. {{cite gnis. 636595. St. Clair Creek
  58. {{cite gnis. 631228. Lyman Creek
  59. {{cite gnis. 631229. Lymans Lake
  60. {{cite gnis. 638030. Sixmile Lake
  61. {{cite gnis. 630535. Liscon Creek
  62. {{cite gnis. 635639. Ranney Creek
  63. {{cite gnis. 2100361. Vance Creek
  64. {{cite gnis. 1623146. Dingman River
  65. {{cite gnis. 638136. Smith Creek
  66. {{cite gnis. 637483. Scotts Lake
  67. {{cite gnis. 620814. Beal Creek
  68. {{cite gnis. 620816. Beals Lake
  69. {{cite gnis. 638492. Spence Creek
  70. {{cite gnis. 1614617. Taylor Creek
  71. {{cite gnis. 2100233. Seamon Creek
  72. {{cite gnis. 628355. Hitchcock Creek
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

lakes-of-michigan chains-of-lakes water-trails lakes-of-antrim-county,-michigan lakes-of-charlevoix-county,-michigan lakes-of-grand-traverse-county,-michigan lakes-of-kalkaska-county,-michigan tributaries-of-lake-michigan
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