Houghton Lake (Michigan)

Houghton Lake
Houghton Lake
	Houghton Lake
Location	Roscommon County, Michigan
Coordinates	44°20′20″N 84°43′30″W / 44.33889°N 84.72500°W
Type	mesotrophic
Primary inflows	Cut River
Primary outflows	Muskegon River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	10.0 mi (16.1 km)
Max. width	5.5 mi (8.9 km)
Surface area	20,044 acres (8,112 ha)
Average depth	7.5 ft (2.3 m)
Max. depth	22 ft (6.7 m)
Residence time	1.2 years
Shore length1	c. 30 miles (48 km)
Surface elevation	1,138 feet (347 m)
Settlements	Prudenville, Houghton Lake, Houghton Lake Heights
	1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Houghton Lake is a lake in Roscommon County, Michigan. The unincorporated community of Prudenville is at the southeastern end of the lake, while the unincorporated communities of Houghton Lake and Houghton Lake Heights are on the southwest and west shores. It is the largest inland lake in the state of Michigan, and one of the largest natural inland lakes in the United States (many man-made impoundments are much larger). The lake is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north to south, and about 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) at it widest point. Houghton Lake has c. 30 miles (48 km) of total shoreline and its waters cover 20,044 acres (81.12 km²). It is an extremely popular resort and fishing area year round. Houghton Lake is the site of Tip-Up-Town USA, a large ice fishing and winter sports festival with several events on the frozen waters of the lake itself. Houghton Lake is named after the first state geologist, Douglass Houghton who explored the area.^[2] Houghton County, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is also named after Douglass Houghton. The name of the lake is pronounced by Michigan citizens as "HOTE'n" (/ˈhoʊʔn̩/).

The lake receives the waters of spring-fed Higgins Lake through the Cut River and, in turn, is the headwaters for the Muskegon River, which flows out of the North Bay in the northwest corner of the lake. The lake is partially within four townships: Markey Township on the northeast, Denton Township on the southeast, Roscommon Township on the southwest, and Lake Township on the northwest. The lake is mid to late mesotrophic in profile, and is considered to be a warm water, shallow lake, with the average depth being 7½ feet. The deepest spot is a small hole in East Bay that has been sounded to 22 feet (6.7 m), but it is rare to encounter depths of greater than 17 feet (5.2 m) in the lake. The lake offers almost every species of game and panfish found in Michigan with the exception of the trout/salmon families, the sturgeon, the muskellunge, and white bass. Common catches include northern pike, bluegill, walleye, crappie, yellow perch and both largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

M-55 follows the southern shore, while U.S. Highway 127 passes just to the west. M-18 and Interstate 75 pass just to the east.

Houghton Lake is notable for the annual winter carnival, Tip Up Town USA,^[3] which is held during two consecutive weekends in January. The name for the festival originated from the flag-like devices - "tip-ups", used for ice fishing. The USA was added later. Tip Up Town Badges, required for entry to the Tip Up Town site on the south shore of Houghton Lake, are sold annually at local businesses.

This carnival includes so many different activities. Prizes are won for different things for all different ages. There is the polar bear dip, where a hole of ice is cut out of the frozen lake, then the contestants jump in. Another famous attraction at Tip-Up Town is the ice slide. Weeks before the carnival starts, the effort is put in to make a giant slide made of nothing but ice! There are a lot of different races that happen on the lake as well. Side-by-side races, dirt bike races, and snowmobile races. The biggest attraction at Tip-Up Town is the beer tent. The beer tent is a big tent set up with live singers and drinks, it is the warmest place to visit. Houghton Lake is known for Tip-Up Town USA.

References[edit]

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Houghton Lake (Michigan)
^ [1] Archived February 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Home". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2006-11-02.

http://www.houghtonlakeboard.org/LakeFacts.aspx

External links[edit]

[1] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Houghton Lake (Michigan)

[2] [1] Archived February 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[3] "Home". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2006-11-02.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Northern Michigan
Central cities	Alpena Cadillac Charlevoix Gaylord Petoskey Traverse City
Counties	Alcona Alpena Antrim Arenac Benzie Charlevoix Cheboygan Clare Crawford Emmet Gladwin Grand Traverse Iosco Kalkaska Lake Leelanau Manistee Missaukee Montmorency Ogemaw Osceola Oscoda Otsego Presque Isle Roscommon Wexford
Geography	Au Sable River Cheboygan River Elk River watershed Grand Traverse Bay Houghton Lake Inland Waterway Leelanau Peninsula Lake Charlevoix Lake Huron Lake Michigan Little Traverse Bay Manistee River Straits of Mackinac Thunder Bay Walloon Lake
Transportation	BATA Charlevoix Municipal Airport Cherry Capital Airport Great Lakes Central Railroad Lake State Railway Mackinac Bridge Pellston Regional Airport SS Badger
Economy	Cherry production in Michigan East Jordan Iron Works Georgia-Pacific Holcim Lafarge Cement Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company Michigan wine USG Corporation Weyerhaeuser
Michigan Central Michigan Southeast Michigan Upper Peninsula West Michigan

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