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Lake Nita

Alger County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
17ft Max
depth
10 acres 3 contours
Paddling Index86Very GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Lake Nita is mapped to a depth of 17 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 10 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding
17 ft
Mean depth
5.8 ft · estimated
Surface area
10 acres
Estimated volume
61 acre-ft · 20M gal
Shoreline
0.53 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation
2% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details3 contours
Contour depths
0–17 ft
Recorded point soundings
17 ft

86.7% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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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
46.55007, -86.06437
MI DNR lake ID
L24452
Vertical exaggeration
3.0×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
0.6 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
86 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Lake Nita has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well 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

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent32.3 of 3590% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (53% forest, 37% wetland; 6% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent29.4 of 29mean fetch 214 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controlsNone identified8.8 of 18No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public accessNot listedNo 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 isolationExcellent16.0 of 18relatively isolated from major roads · 1 MDOT-classified segment within 1.2 km, peak 132 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
Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation
Low — approximately 2% 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 — 53% forest and 37% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
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.
Quick answers

Lake Nita — common questions

How deep is Lake Nita?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Lake Nita is 17 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 Lake Nita?

Lake Nita covers about 10 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Lake Nita?

The estimated mean depth of Lake Nita is 5.8 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

Is there public access to Lake Nita?

No public launch for Lake Nita 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.