Higgins Lake is a large recreational and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Roscommon County Roscommon County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 23,459. The county seat is Roscommon. The county was founded in 1840 and organized in 1875. History The county was formed by ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The 9,900 acre (40 km²) lake is known for its deep, clear waters and is the 10th largest in Michigan with a shoreline of . It is named after Sylvester Higgins, the first chief of the topographical department of the

Michigan Geological Survey The Michigan Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the U.S. state of Michigan. The survey is headed by the State Geologist of Michigan. The survey has been composed of three individual surveys: the first from 1837 through 1845, the second fr ...

. It has a maximum width of and a length of with a maximum depth of . The mean depth is and the lake contains almost 20 billion cubic feet (570 million m³) of water. Its retention time is about 12.5 years. The lake's

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

covers 19,000 acres (77 km²). The twin-lobed lake receives half of its water from submerged

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

s, six percent from incoming streams, and the remainder from direct rainfall and runoff. It drains into

Marl Lake A marl lake is a type of alkaline lake whose bottom sediments include large deposits of marl, a mixture of clay and carbonate minerals. The term is particularly applied to lakes that have been dredged or mined for marl, often for manufacturing P ...

by the Cut River which runs into Houghton Lake and eventually to

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 the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

via the

Muskegon River Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river source is located at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. The river pa ...

. A mile north of the lake, water flows into the

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

watershed. Sportfish in the lake include

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''At ...

and

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

. Fish are taken both in open water and by

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

. Higgins Lake is considered a morphometrically

oligotroph An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates of ...

ic lake, meaning that its large size causes it to appear and function as a nutrient-poor lake although it receives a fair amount of nutrients. The unincorporated community of

Higgins Lake Higgins Lake is a large recreational and fishing lake in Roscommon County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 9,900 acre (40 km²) lake is known for its deep, clear waters and is the 10th largest in Michigan with a shoreline of . It is named ...

is located along the western shores of the lake, and the lake is situated on the boundary between Lyon Township on the west and Gerrish Township on the east. There are two state parks, located on opposite ends of the lake:

South Higgins Lake State Park South Higgins Lake State Park is a public recreation area covering on the southern shore of Higgins Lake five miles southwest of Roscommon in Roscommon County, Michigan. The state park occupies one mile of shoreline on Higgins Lake and entirely ...

, which has a mile of shoreline, and

North Higgins Lake State Park North Higgins Lake State Park is a public recreation area located west of Roscommon in Beaver Creek Township, Crawford County, Michigan. The state park occupies on the north shore of Higgins Lake at the site of what was once one of the world ...

. Both provide public boat launches and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

, and are very popular in the summer months. The south park is older, larger, and more developed. The north park is located on what was once the world's largest

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

nursery, a part of the

CCC CCC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canada's Capital Cappies, the Critics and Awards Program in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada * ''Capcom Classics Collection'', a 2005 compilation of arcade games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox * CCC, the pro ...

of the 1930s. Centuries before European settlers came to North America, the Chippewa people called the lake ''Majinabeesh'', which means 'sparkling water'.

History

The lake was first called Forginson Lake from an early 1839 survey by John Brink, but it was renamed Higgins Lake after Sylvester Higgins in an 1852 survey by William A. Burt.

Environmental concerns

In recent years, the lake has become increasingly popular as a residential and recreational area, which has raised concern for the lake's water quality.Minnerick, Russel J. (2001)
''Effects of Residential Development on the Water Quality of Higgins Lake, Michigan, 1995-99''
p. 1. U.S. Geological Survey. Citizens and local government believe the lake suffers harm from increased loads of nutrients, including

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

, from

septic systems A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater ( sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treat ...

, fertilizers, and runoff from roads. The most obvious change has been the introduction of

zebra mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally Introduced species, introduced to numerous other areas and has become an inv ...

. Zebra mussels, which have no known

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s in U.S. waters, threaten the existence of native

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...

sHuta, Leda & Kuether, Greg. "Dangerous Strangers: How Rogue Species Threaten Our Endangered Species." In Weber, Karl (ed.) (2010)
Cane Toads and Other Rogue Species''">''Cane Toads and Other Rogue Species''
p. 63. PublicAffairs. and result in more vegetation growing on the bottom of the lake. Residents at Higgins Lake have begun actively lobbying for laws to enforce cleaning of boats before they can be put into the lake, as well as programs to try to combat other foreign pests and intruders to preserve the lake's natural ecology.

Gallery

File:Lake Pic 2008.JPG, St. Johns American Legion Beach File:NJD's Pictures 092.jpg, North Higgins Lake File:Michigan's Higgins Lake.jpg,

References

External links

*
Higgins Lake/Roscommon Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Lakes of Michigan Bodies of water of Roscommon County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Roscommon County, Michigan

History

Environmental concerns

Gallery

See also

References

External links