Portage Lake (Michigan)

General data

Name: Portage Lake (Michigan)
Water system: St. Lawrence River
Water type: Natural lake
Progression: Portage Lake Channel -> Lake Michigan -> Lake Huron -> St. Clair River -> Lake St. Clair (North America) -> Detroit River -> Lake Erie -> Niagara River -> Lake Ontario -> St. Lawrence River -> Gulf of St. Lawrence -> Atlantic Ocean -> Planet Earth
Climates: Temperate
Continents: North America
Countries: United States of America

Portage Lake is a natural lake, located in Onekama Township in Manistee County, Michigan, United States. The village of Onekama, Michigan is situated at the northeastern end of the lake.

The Lake was first identified as Portage Lake in 1837, when Joseph Stronach named the natural stream at Portage Point that flowed into Lake Michigan as Portage Creek.

The lake was first formed during the Wisconsinian glacial age (10,000 to 75,000 years ago) as an arm of Lake Michigan that later closed. It has a 15,808-acre (6,397 ha) watershed with a number of ground-fed small streams.

In more recent times and up until May 14, 1871, the lake was a landlocked body of water with a water level about 12 to 14 feet (3.7 to 4.3 m) above the level of Lake Michigan. On that date in 1871, homesteaders around the lake, who had objected to the practices of the saw mill owner at Portage in raising the lake level to power their saw mill, dug a channel through the narrow isthmus about a mile south of the natural outlet at Portage Creek.

Portage Lake (Michigan)

General data

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