The Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed, commonly known as the Chain of Lakes, is a waterway consisting of numerous lakes and connecting rivers in the northwestern

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The watershed empties via the Elk River in

Elk Rapids Elk Rapids is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. The village is the largest incorporated community in Antrim County, with a population of 1,529 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Elk Rapids Township, in the southwest of Ant ...

into the East Arm of

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay ( ) is an arm of Lake Michigan, located along the west coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is separated from the rest of Lake Michigan by the Leelanau Peninsula. The bay is some long, ranges from wide, and up ...

, a bay of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. The watershed includes in Antrim,

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

, 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 and drops in elevation. It has over of shoreline and almost of water surface area.

Geography

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 The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its p ...

, 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 Lake Bellaire. Leaving the lake, the stream becomes the Grass River, winding for some through the scenic Grass River Natural Area before emptying into Clam Lake. Clam Lake in turn empties directly into Torch Lake. At over 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 Lake Skegemog ( '), formerly known as Round Lake and Skegemog Lake, is a lake in Northern Michigan. The lake is part of the Elk River Chain of Lakes, itself part of the Lake Michigan watershed. Within the lake is the tripoint of Antrim, Grand T ...

, a 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 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

, then out into the east arm of the

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 The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

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 ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

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 *** 2)

**** Barker Creek **** Desmond Creek **** Torch River ***** Rapid River ****** Rugg Pond (also known as Antrim Pond) ******* Little Rapid River ***** 3) Torch Lake ****** Spencer Creek ****** Eastport Creek ****** Wilkinson Creek (also Wilkenson Creek) ****** 4) Clam Lake ******* Finch Creek ******** Crow Creek ******* Grass River ******** Cold Creek ******** Shanty Creek ******** 5) Lake Bellaire ********* Grass Creek ********* Intermediate River ********** Cedar River *********** Blair Lake *********** North Branch Cedar River *********** Woolcott Creek ********** 6) Intermediate Lake *********** Openo Creek *********** Fisk Creek *********** 7) Hanley Lake ************ Green River ************* Ogletree Creek ************** Kitty Ann Creek ************** Toad Lake *************** Toad Creek **************** Mud Lake ***************** Little Torch Lake ************* 8) Ben-way Lake ************** Benway Creek ************** 9) Wilson Lake *************** Vonstraten Creek **************** King Creek **************** Eaton Lake *************** 10) Ellsworth Lake **************** Skinner Creek ***************** Skinner Lake ***************** Marion Creek **************** 11) St. Clair Lake ***************** St. Clair Creek ****************** Lyman Creek ******************* Lymans Lake (also Lyman Lake) ***************** 12) Sixmile Lake ****************** Liscon Creek ******************* Ranney Creek ****************** Vance Creek ****************** Dingman River ******************* Smith Creek ******************* 13) Scotts Lake ******************** Beal Creek ******************** 14) 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 **

** 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 Grand Traverse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,238, making it the largest county in Northern Michigan. Its county seat is Traverse City. The county is part of the Trav ...

** Whitewater Township * Kalkaska County ** Clearwater Township ** Cold Springs Township ** Kalkaska ** Kalkaska Township ** Rapid River Township * Otsego County ** Elmira Township

References

External links