Bay Lake
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Bay Lake is mapped to a depth of 45 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 173 acres in Gogebic County, Michigan.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey (depths read from the survey's isobath field; this lake's summary-depth column is blank in the source).
- Deepest sounding
- 45 ft
- Mean depth
- 13.9 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 173 acres
- Estimated volume
- 2,398 acre-ft · 781M gal
- Shoreline
- 5.1 mi · irregular
- Aquatic vegetation
- 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details9 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–45 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 45 ft, 45 ft, 40 ft, 35 ft, 35 ft, 35 ft
37.7% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 23.5% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 3 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.
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Map details & sources5 sources
All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.
Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.
- Coordinates
- 46.24237, -89.49634
- MI DNR lake ID
- L45387
- Vertical exaggeration
- 2.15×
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.5 MB
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Bay Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, generally sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.
Why this score?5 components
Included in the index
| Component | Rating | Points of weight | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural setting | Excellent | 28.8 of 35 | 82% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (58% forest, 23% wetland; 9% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Very Good | 23.7 of 29 | mean fetch 678 m · 23% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch |
| Watercraft controls | None identified | 8.8 of 18 | No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law. |
| Public access | Not listed | — | No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized. |
| Road isolation | Excellent | 17.6 of 18 | relatively isolated from major roads · 1 MDOT-classified segment within 1.2 km, peak 23 vehicles/day |
Additional paddling considerations
These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.
- Wake sensitivity
- Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
- Aquatic vegetation
- Low — approximately 4% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
- Observed motorized activity
- Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
- Wildlife habitat potential
- High — 58% forest and 23% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →
Non-native species records
No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.
Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.
Bait & tackle nearby
licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distanceBay Lake — common questions
How deep is Bay Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Bay Lake is 45 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.
How big is Bay Lake?
Bay Lake covers about 173 acres in Gogebic County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Bay Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Bay Lake is 13.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
Is there public access to Bay Lake?
No public launch for Bay Lake appears in the Michigan DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.
