Crystal Lake, the largest

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 ...

of this name in

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, ...

, is located near

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 ...

in Benzie County about southwest of

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County. The city's population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, while the four-county Traverse C ...

and about northeast of Frankfort at . It measures approximately , and has a maximum depth of . At , it is Michigan's ninth largest inland lake. Up to and through the American Civil War years Crystal Lake was known as "Cap Lake" due to the frequent whitecaps visible on its surface. Crystal Lake is adjacent to the southern reaches of 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 ...

. In 1873, an effort was made to connect Crystal Lake with Lake Michigan via a channel. The lake level of Crystal Lake was higher than that of Lake Michigan and when the channel was opened, the water level in Crystal Lake dropped about . Although the project was a failure, the lowering of the lake level uncovered sandy beaches, including the current public beach at Beulah. The

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

that feeds Crystal Lake is very small, and fertilizer and sewage outflows are minimal, leading to the exceptionally clear water that gives it its current name. The surface area of the lake is 35% of the total area of the drainage basin (land and water combined).

References

External links

*
Crystal Lake Michigan Gems: Flickr Photo Group
{{authority control Lakes of Michigan Bodies of water of Benzie County, Michigan

See also

References

Further reading

External links