Lime Lake is a freshwater lake located in
Cleveland Township,
Leelanau County, Michigan
Leelanau County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,301. Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Townshi ...
, approximately two miles north of the Village of
Maple City, Michigan
Maple City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Leelanau County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of Maple City was 209 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Kasson Township, and lies about ...
.
The lake is located in a basin setting of wooded rolling sand hills approximately south of
Good Harbor Bay and the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Located within Benzie and Leelanau counties, the park extends along a stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well ...
. The
M-22
M-22 are a British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders. On March 22, the duo met, through a joint production, which is the reason for their stage name.
History
On March 22, 2015, the duo met during a joint ...
, a 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, ...
scenic heritage route, skirts Lime Lake to the north.
Description
The lake is approximately long, from south to north, and wide, from east to west, and at its deepest. It covers .
Lime Lake is part of the Good Harbor Bay watershed. In addition to a number of small creeks and springs, it is fed by Lime Creek at the southwestern corner of the lake.
Shetland Creek flows out of the north end of the lake and into
Little Traverse Lake, and from there
Shalda Creek flows out of Little Traverse Lake and into Good Harbor Bay on
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 ...
.
Migratory fish from Lake Michigan have access to Lime Lake through this connection when there are no
beaver dam
A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, alligators, cougars, foxes, eagles, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify th ...
s or other natural obstructions.
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
have been observed
spawning
Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...
in Lime Creek.
Lime Lake has a healthy fish community with abundant species diversity including
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...
,
largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...
,
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
, and
smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...
.
The south and north ends of the lake feature lowland swamps dominated by
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
* Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
...
,
hemlock, and
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
trees. Rolling hillsides to the east and west feature upland hardwoods and
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
s.
Teichner Preserve, a parcel located on the northeast shore of the lake, was gifted to the Leelanau Conservancy in 1996. Open to the public, a trail and boardwalk lead through extensive wetlands and forested lowlands to the lake shore.
The Lime Lake Association is the riparian association representing property owners on Lime Lake.
Lumber-era history
In the late 19th century the lumber industry dominated the area. The Lime Lake Lumber Company mill was constructed around 1880. Timber harvested from the surrounding land was cut at the mill, and then hauled down a 3-mile plank road to Good Harbor Bay for shipping. The northeastern corner of the lake has some slabwood remnants easily visible on the shallow bottom.
Geological history
Lime Lake is a
glacial lake
A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
Formation
Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
, formed by natural and geologic forces.
With the re-treat of the
Laurentian Glacier, approximately 11,000 BP (before present), and the ice burden gone, the
Earth’s crust in the northern part of the region began to rise. Over time the shoreline of the proglacial Lake Algonquin
Lake Algonquin
Lake Algonquin was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Nipigon, and Lake Nipissing ...
evolved with long peninsulas and bays becoming truncated from the main body lake to form separate lakes.
At Good Harbor Bay, Lime Lake as well as neighboring Bass and School lakes, all at an elevation of , were closed off early during the Lake Algonquin stage (about 7,000 years ago).
During the
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing (; , ) is a lake in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Lake Nipissing i ...
stage (about 6,000 to 4,000 years ago), a crescent-shaped belt of dunes closed off Little Traverse Lake.
[The Glacial Lakes around Michigan, By William R. Farrand, University of Michigan, Bulletin 4, revised 1988]
See also
*
List of lakes in Michigan
This is a list of lakes in Michigan. The United States, American state of Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, Great Lakes.
The number of inland lakes in Michigan depends on the minimum size. There are:
* 62,798 lakes ≥
* 26,266 la ...
References
{{authority control
Lakes of Leelanau County, Michigan
Lakes of Michigan