Christiana Lake

Cass County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

40ft Max
depth

191 acres 8 contours Public access

Paddling Index60MixedMedium confidenceslow-no-wake zones · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

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The lake

Survey readout

Christiana Lake is mapped to a depth of 40 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 191 acres in Cass 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 mapped contour: 40 ft
Mean depth: 19.8 ft · estimated
Surface area: 191 acres
Estimated volume: 3,783 acre-ft · 1,233M gal
Shoreline: 3.33 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 6% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details8 contours

Contour depths: 0–40 ft
Recorded point soundings: 40 ft

Other waters with a public launch on this map: Christianajuno/painter. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Christiana Lake’s own are.

32.3% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 55.1% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Cass County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 32 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

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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: 41.80299, -85.99917
MI DNR lake ID: L29929
Vertical exaggeration: 2.32×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR

Slow — no wakedesignated zones

Official rule details1 rule

Slow — no wake“Slow-- no wake speed”

Where the mapped control areas and the official regulation language differ, the language governs. Official county watercraft controls.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

60 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Christiana Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, nearby higher-volume roads. Watercraft controls: Slow-no-wake zones.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	22.6 of 35	69% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (8% forest, 61% wetland; 18% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	18.9 of 29	mean fetch 955 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	Slow-no-wake zones	12.0 of 18	Slow — no wake — designated zones only
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	Mixed	6.6 of 18	nearby higher-volume roads · 43 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 8,499 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 6% 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 — 8% forest and 61% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches

1 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Common Carp

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 1 species found here — 1 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

Common CarpOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

Common CarpOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 2021

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 36.5″ common carp in 2021 on artificial lure.

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

Non-native species records

3 records

Mussels & snails

Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Purple Loosestrife
Starry Stonewort

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

🚿 Restrooms / vault toilet≈0.3 mi · 2 mapped

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Clear H20 Tackle LLC≈0.7 mi69037 Christiana Lake Rd, Edwardsburg · Google · Apple

The Trading Post≈4.2 mi25844 Redfield St, Edwardsburg · Google · Apple

Hall's Bait Shop≈6.8 mi15573 US 12, Union · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Christiana Lake — common questions

How deep is Christiana Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Christiana Lake is 40 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 Christiana Lake?

Christiana Lake covers about 191 acres in Cass County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Christiana Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Christiana Lake is 19.8 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Christiana Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include common carp. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Christiana Lake?

No public launch for Christiana 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.

More lakes in Cass County