Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Muskegon County,

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, ...

, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the

Muskegon River The Muskegon River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 21, 2011 river in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Fr ...

, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline 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 ...

, approximately wide by long.

Hydrology

The

, Michigan's second-longest river, originating at Houghton Lake and flowing southwest for , empties into Muskegon Lake at the eastern end before entering Lake Michigan. On the north, Bear Creek/Lake empties into the lake via the Bear Lake Channel and on the south, Ryerson Creek and Ruddiman Creek flow into Muskegon Lake.

History

Muskegon Lake played an important role in the early development of the city of Muskegon, as well as the logging industry in Michigan. Timber, particularly white pine, was harvested throughout central Michigan and floated downstream on the Muskegon River to the lake, which at one time boasted more than 47 sawmills along its banks.

Cities and parks

Cities located on Muskegon Lake include

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

and

North Muskegon, Michigan North Muskegon is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,093 at the 2020 census, up from 3,786 in 2010. Geography The city is in western Muskegon County on the north side of Muskegon Lake, an arm of Lak ...

. Major parks located along Muskegon Lake include Muskegon State Park on the north at Lake Michigan, Heritage Landing in downtown Muskegon, and Pere Marquette Park on the south at Lake Michigan.

Transportation

Docks for the Lake Express Cross-Lake Ferry which provides ferry service across Lake Michigan between Muskegon, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are located on the southern shore of Muskegon Lake. Muskegon Lake sightseeing trips are also available aboard the Aquastar (formerly the Port City Princess).

Recreational activities

Several public and private marinas and boat launch facilities are located along the shores of Muskegon Lake and recreational sailing and boating are popular activities. Sport fishing is also popular on Muskegon Lake where King Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Brown Trout, Lake Trout and Perch are found. Other popular activities include camping, hiking, picnicking, ice boating, concerts and festivals.

References

External links

Yahoo! Education — Muskegon, river, United States

* * ttp://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/14934.shtml NOAA nautical chart*
NOAA Nautical chart of Muskegon Lake
{{authority control Lakes of Michigan Lakes of Muskegon County, Michigan