Ford Lake (Michigan)

Ford Lake
Looking south from North Bay Park
Ford Lake is located in Michigan
Ford Lake
Ford Lake
Location within the state of Michigan
LocationWashtenaw County, Michigan
Coordinates42°13′02″N 83°35′06″W / 42.21722°N 83.58500°W / 42.21722; -83.58500
TypeFresh water Reservoir
River sourcesHuron River
Basin countriesUnited States
First flooded1931[1]
Surface area975 acres (395 ha)[2]
Max. depth30 ft (9.1 m)
Surface elevation682 ft (208 m)[3]
IslandsBig Island Park and several unnamed islands[4]
SettlementsYpsilanti
Ypsilanti Township

Ford Lake is a fresh water artificial reservoir located in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake was created from the construction of Ford Lake Dam (originally known as Rawsonville Dam) along the Huron River in the early 1930s.[1] The lake is named after business magnate Henry Ford.

The lake covers an area of 975 acres (395 ha) and has a maximum depth of 30 feet (9.1 m) near the eastern end.[2][5] The lake continues the flow of the Huron River, beginning approximately at the Interstate 94 bridge crossing in the city of Ypsilanti and ends at Ford Lake Dam along Bridge Road in Ypsilanti Township. A short distance after the Ford Lake Dam, the Huron River continues into Belleville Lake, which itself is a reservoir created by the French Landing Dam and Powerhouse.[6]

  1. ^ a b Huron River Watershed Council (November 2015). "Ford Lake Dam" (PDF). Huron River Watershed Council. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Charter Township of Ypsilanti (April 4, 2019). "Ford Lake & Huron River Watershed". Charter Township of Ypsilanti. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Ford Lake Topo Map in Washtenaw County MI" (Map). TopoZone. 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Big Island Park" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Charter Township of Ypsilanti; Michigan Department of Natural Resources (n.d.). Bathymetric map of Ford Lake impoundment 2002 indicating water depth at 10-foot intervals beyond 5-feet deep (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Charter Township of Ypsilanti. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Huron River Dams Network (November 2015). "French Landing Dam" (PDF). Huron River Dams Network. Retrieved August 20, 2019.