Houghton Lake (Michigan)
Houghton Lake | |
---|---|
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)[1] |
Settlements | Prudenville, Houghton Lake, Houghton Lake Heights |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Houghton Lake is a
The lake receives the waters of spring-fed
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.
See also
- List of lakes in Michigan
References
- ^ 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.