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Clam Lake Canal

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Clam Lake Canal
Clam Lake Canal in May 2017
Clam Lake Canal from M-115 (May 2017)
Location within the state of Michigan
Location within the state of Michigan
Location within the state of Michigan
LocationMitchell State Park
Cadillac, Michigan
Country United States
Coordinates44°14′21.8″N 85°27′12.6″W / 44.239389°N 85.453500°W / 44.239389; -85.453500Coordinates: 44°14′21.8″N 85°27′12.6″W / 44.239389°N 85.453500°W / 44.239389; -85.453500
Specifications
Length0.33 miles (0.53 km)
Maximum height above sea level1,289 ft (393 m)
StatusOpen
Maximum width48 feet (14.6 m)
History
Former namesBlack Creek[1]
Modern nameCadillac Canal[2]
Current ownerMichigan DNR
Original ownerGeorge A. Mitchell
Principal engineerClam Lake Improvement and Construction Company
Date completed1873
Geography
Connects toLake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell
(originally known as Big Clam Lake and Little Clam Lake)
Depth2.25 feet (0.69 m)
Clam Lake Canal
Clam Lake Canal sign.jpg
Clam Lake Canal historic marker
DesignatedMarch 16, 1989

The Clam Lake Canal (sometimes called the Cadillac Canal)[3] is a man-made 0.33 mile (0.53 km) long canal between Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac in Cadillac, Michigan. It was made by George A. Mitchell, the founder of the city of Cadillac (as the Village of Clam Lake), in the 1870s. The main purpose of the man-made canal was to facilitate the movement of logs to sawmills. Mitchell was a businessman, merchant, railwayman, lumber baron, and real estate developer who needed lumber to build the village, and saw the potential for further sawmill development.

The canal displayed an unusual mystery soon after it was constructed: it freezes over in the first part of the winter, when the lakes on each side of it are unfrozen. Then, when the adjacent lakes freeze over with thick ice, the canal in between thaws and flows freely all winter long.

Background[]

In 1873, George A. Mitchell paid $2,000 ($43,200 today) to purchase a 40-acre (16 ha) strip of land between Little Clam Lake and Big Clam Lake. Little Clam Lake is now known as Lake Cadillac and Big Clam Lake is now known as Lake Mitchell, named after Mitchell's nephew and partner William W. Mitchell. The strip already connected these lakes via the easterly flowing Black Creek, which Mitchell envisioned as an efficient transportation route for logs once the canal was constructed.[4][5] He dredged the creek, but it was inadequate for floating the harvested timbers from Big Clam Lake to Little Clam Lake and to his mills in Cadillac, so he went about constructing a new canal a few hundred feet south. He noted the prevailing westerly winds, and the natural flow of the water to the northeast corner of Little Clam Lake, that would work to his advantage.[6]

Mitchell first persuaded the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad to change their original route layout between the lakes, redirecting it to the eastern end of the Little Clam Lake, in the southeast corner of Wexford County, Michigan.[5] He was a stockholder in the railroad company and a future director, and this helped his success.[5] He then formed the Clam Lake Improvement and Construction Company with $10,000 in capital stock, and developed a canal.[7][8] It is 0.33 miles (0.53 km) long, and some 20 ft or 6.1 m wide. The main reason for the canal's development was to float logs from one lake to the other and collect fees for the usage of the waterway.[9] The logs were then taken to the railroad and sawmills for processing into lumber.[10]

Environment and current use[]

The Clam Lake Canal has been widened six times over the years to about 50 feet or 15 metres, and as of 2005 is used as a recreational passage between the lakes for local boaters.[11][12] In 1919, the area was reorganized as Mitchell State Park; the canal itself was dedicated as a Michigan State Historic Site on March 16, 1989.[2]

Lake Mitchell, previously known as Big Clam Lake, is about a 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) surface area lake and 95 percent of it is at least 15 feet or 4.6 metres deep. Lake Cadillac, previously known as Little Clam Lake, is about a 1,100-acre (450 ha) surface area lake and about half of it is 15 feet or 4.6 metres deep. They are both fishing lakes, as is the canal, because they have vegetation favorable for a fish environment. Lake Mitchell (Big Clam Lake) reportedly dropped by a foot soon after the canal was completed in 1873. Black Creek still exists and flows in both directions during periods of high water draining the eastern portion of the local marsh into Lake Mitchell and the western portion into Lake Cadillac.[2]

The size of the Lake Mitchell drainage basin is over 28,000 acres and the lake flushes about once a year. One report classifies Lake Mitchell as a borderline meso-eutrophic lake and another report classifies it as eutrophic, although some of those parameters show as mesotrophic. The lake is primarily sand and organic matter, with a few areas of cobble stone and gravel. Although there is no dam or lake level control structure on the lake, there is a structure on Lake Cadillac that influences the level of Lake Mitchell. The official lake level for Lake Cadillac (Little Clam Lake) was established in 1967 as an annual maximum level of 1,290 feet or 390 metres above sea level.[2]

Freezing phenomenon[]

In the winter, Clam Lake Canal often displays an unusual phenomenon, described in Ripley's Believe It Or Not series.[13] Unlike most canals in the Northern Hemisphere, the canal freezes over in the first part of the winter, when the lakes on each side are unfrozen.[13] When the lakes freeze over in the mid-winter months, the canal then thaws and flows with unfrozen water.[13]

According to Department of Natural Resources, the explanation for this phenomenon concerns the physical properties of water which is heaviest and most dense at 39 °F (4 °C), and less dense above and below this temperature. In the early winter months, lighter water floats to the top; as the weather gets colder, water closest to the top freezes first.[14] Since the canal is shallower and has less volume than the adjoining lakes, it freezes more quickly, causing ice to form on the canal before the lakes. As the winter advances and temperatures drop further, the lakes catch up and begin the hard freezing process. The warmer lake water under the ice is forced out, as the ice becomes thicker on top. This warm water moves toward the canal, thawing the canal, and causing current to flow across it. It stays unfrozen for the length of the winter. On rare occasions, when the temperature goes below 0 °F (−18 °C), some ice will form on the shoreline of the canal.[15]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau (December 4, 2015). "2 Lakes, A Canal, A Railroad, & A Bit of History". Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau (2018). "Cadillac Canal". Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  3. ^ Forster 2018, p. 49.
  4. ^ Tonello, Mark A. (2012). Lake Mitchell (PDF). Status of the Fishery Resource (Report). Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c Irish, Brenda (September 1, 2006). "Connected by a Canal". High Beam Research. Michigan History Magazine. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  6. ^ Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau (December 4, 2015). "2 Lakes, A Canal, A Railroad, & A Bit of History". Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "Wexford County". The Lake County Star. Chase, Michigan. November 13, 1873 – via newspapers.com open access.
  8. ^ "The Legislature". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. April 3, 1875 – via newspapers.com open access.
  9. ^ Peterson, William (June 12, 1971). "Judge tells of county seat battle". Cadillac Evening News. Cadillac, Michigan.
  10. ^ "Michigan". Cadillac News. Cadillac, Michigan. September 26, 1880. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2017 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  11. ^ Ashlee 2005, p. 518.
  12. ^ "Water". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. June 13, 1993. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via newspapers.com open access.
  13. ^ a b c Jager 1999, p. 27.
  14. ^ "The Mystery of the Clam Lake Canal". December 14, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Clam Lake Canal mystery". Cadillac News. Cadillac, Michigan. December 8, 2006.

Sources[]

External links[]

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