Clifford Lake
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Clifford Lake is mapped to a depth of 34 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 53 acres in Livingston County, Michigan.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.
- Deepest sounding
- 34 ft
- Mean depth
- 12.4 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 53 acres
- Estimated volume
- 655 acre-ft · 213M gal
- Shoreline
- 1.1 mi · round
- Aquatic vegetation
- 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Trophic state
- Mesotrophic · satellite estimate · details
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details8 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–34 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 34 ft, 29 ft
48.7% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 29.7% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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. Color shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.
- Coordinates
- 42.53906, -83.84969
- MI DNR lake ID
- L12201
- Vertical exaggeration
- 2.52× below the waterline; land at true scale
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 1.9 MB
Lake productivity & trophic state
Satellite estimateSatellite-estimated classification: Mesotrophic. Moderate nutrient levels and biological productivity. Based on satellite estimates of summer chlorophyll-a (LAGOS-US LANDSAT, 2020). No lake-specific measurement is available in this dataset.
Trophic state describes how biologically productive a lake is, based on indicators such as nutrients, algae and water clarity. It is not a swimming-safety or overall water-quality rating.
What do the categories mean?
- Oligotrophic≤ 2 µg/L · lower nutrient and algae levels, often clearer water and lower biological productivity.
- Mesotrophic · this lake2–7 µg/L · moderate nutrient levels and biological productivity.
- Eutrophic7–30 µg/L · higher nutrient levels and biological productivity, often with more algae or aquatic plant growth.
- Hypereutrophic> 30 µg/L · very high nutrient levels and biological productivity, with a greater potential for heavy algae growth and low water clarity.
Bands are summer (June–August) mean chlorophyll-a, the green pigment in algae, at the EPA 2012 National Lakes Assessment thresholds. Trophic condition can change over time and by measurement method. Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; satellite chlorophyll-a estimates from LAGOS-US LANDSAT.
Watercraft rules
county-enforced local controls · MI DNROfficial rule details1 rule
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-23Clifford Lake has a substantially developed setting, well sheltered geometry, nearby higher-volume roads. Watercraft controls: Whole-lake slow-no-wake.
Why this score?5 components
Included in the index
| Component | Rating | Points of weight | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural setting | Modest | 0.7 of 35 | 9% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (4% forest, 5% wetland; 71% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Excellent | 29.3 of 29 | mean fetch 471 m · 63% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions |
| Watercraft controls | Whole-lake slow-no-wake | 16.2 of 18 | Slow — no wake |
| 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 | 7.4 of 18 | nearby higher-volume roads · 20 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 13,761 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
- Limited — 4% forest and 5% 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 distanceClifford Lake — common questions
How deep is Clifford Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Clifford Lake is 34 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 Clifford Lake?
Clifford Lake covers about 53 acres in Livingston County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Clifford Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Clifford Lake is 12.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
Is there public access to Clifford Lake?
No public launch for Clifford 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.
