[AJ Granger]

**I inadvertently posted this in the GR forum. Thought I would re-post here for more eyeballs.**

I don't know if this topic has been covered. I'm sure the, "what is your favorite inland lake in MI" topic has been, but feel free to add thoughts on that too.

I was just curious though, how many (and which ones) lakes in MI have that beautiful turquoise colored water. Torch, Charlevoix, Elk, Walloon..... what else?

Also, what is it that causes that beautiful color to be present, versus "normal" lakes?

[Luzette]

Crystal Lake in Beulah has that unique color. Men folks will have to explain the chemistry of it as I don't know why some lakes set apart like this.

[Retroit]

The deeper the lake, the darker it is. Shallowness and a sandy bottom help to produce the turquoise color.

[detwahDJ]

Large, deep lakes which drain swiftly into Lake Michigan. Small slow-draining inland lakes are marly for the most part (but I haven't seen them all).

[BoomRShine]

Originally Posted by Retroit

The deeper the lake, the darker it is. Shallowness and a sandy bottom help to produce the turquoise color.

Torch Lake, with a maximum depth of 285 feet and average depth of 111 feet, is Michigan's largest inland lake.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by BoomRShine

Torch Lake, with a maximum depth of 285 feet and average depth of 111 feet, is Michigan's largest inland lake.

What he said.

I think I read that it has to do something with the type of sediment in the lake that reflects a certain color blue. Torch is not really turquoise out in the middle, but has bands of color (greener/clear in the shallows, a turquoise ring where it starts to drop off around 10 - 20 feet, and then a deep dark blue in the middle. But it also changes color all day long, depending on where the sun is, how clear the sky is, etc.. I've seen it look Caribbean blue and I've seen the whole lake look green.

http://www.aerialgraphics.com/photos/4785torch.jpg

(in the picture is Torch Lake, Elk Lake is to the left, Grand Traverse Bay is toward the upper left, and Lake Michigan is way up in the left hand corner. )

This is what Torch looks like most of the time in the Summer. Photo is unfiltered (I didn't pump up the colors at all).



Grand Traverse Bay is very similar, as is Glen Lake I believe.

[AJ Granger]

Originally Posted by magellan

What he said.

I think I read that it has to do something with the type of sediment in the lake that reflects a certain color blue. Torch is not really turquoise out in the middle, but has bands of color (greener/clear in the shallows, a turquoise ring where it starts to drop off around 10 - 20 feet, and then a deep dark blue in the middle. But it also changes color all day long, depending on where the sun is, how clear the sky is, etc.. I've seen it look Caribbean blue and I've seen the whole lake look green.

http://www.aerialgraphics.com/photos/4785torch.jpg

(in the picture is Torch Lake, Elk Lake is to the left, Grand Traverse Bay is toward the upper left, and Lake Michigan is way up in the left hand corner. )

This is what Torch looks like most of the time in the Summer. Photo is unfiltered (I didn't pump up the colors at all).



Grand Traverse Bay is very similar, as is Glen Lake I believe.

Beautiful picture.

Good call on the colors of Torch. I guess when I said turquoise, what I really meant was clear and clean. Blues and greens. Not your typical dark murky colored waters you normally find.

I think Lake Leelanau falls in this category as well. Maybe it's just the majority of the NW MI lakes. Although I am not sure if there are any smallish lakes with those colors?

[EP in MI]

North bar lake in the sleeping bear dunes, burt lake just south of mackinaw, and gull lake in between kalamazoo and battle creek. North Bar lake is a real small lake with turquoise. Gull Lake is real unexpected because all the lakes around it are murky.

[michigan83]

Gull Lake is the clearest/cleanest/most blue lake I've seen in southern Michigan. It could easily fit right in up near Torch Lake, etc.

[michigan83]

I took this photo of Torch Lake last fall.

Also, like Magellan, I did not mess with the color in photoshop. Straight off the camera.