Elk Lake (Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Elk Lake is located in Antrim
and Grand Traverse counties in Northern Michigan
. The lake is about a mile and a half wide (2.4 km) and nine miles (14 km) long, and is centered at 44°51′N 85°23′W near the town of Elk Rapids
. It has maximum depth of 192 ft (59 m), making it Michigan's second deepest after Torch Lake
. It is a popular lake for fishing, featuring lake trout
, rock bass
, yellow perch
, smallmouth bass
, muskellunge
, ciscoes
, brown trout
, rainbow trout
, and whitefish
.
This deep, clear, caribbean-colored lake is very much a smaller version of the more famous Torch Lake, which lies just to the east. Elk Lake is part of a watershed that begins in northern Antrim County with Intermediate Lake, which is connected by the Intermediate River with Lake Bellaire. The Grass River
flows from Lake Bellaire into Clam Lake, which in turn drains into Torch Lake via the short Clam River
. Torch Lake is drained by the Torch River, which flows into Lake Skegemog
, which opens into Elk Lake. Elk Lake flows through Elk River
into the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay
at Elk Rapids. This watershed is popularly known as the Chain of Lakes.
Nearby is a sign marking the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole
and the Equator
. This is one of six Michigan sites and 29 places in the U.S.A. where such signs are known to exist.
and other University of Chicago
professors. Founding members were leaders with a common interest in academic and applied research including (among others) medicine
, physics
, and sociology
. Friends comprised the remaining members.
The club has offered anonymity from the local community, refuge from their public life and some of the few remaining wilderness
areas on private land. The club's land tract was surrounded by rural life until the late 1970s
when commercial interests started encroaching. The camp is located less than five miles (8 km) from one of Northern Michigan's best-known vacation areas, on the south end of Torch Lake
.
Membership is closed and has been passed through family lines for three generations. Some the better-known founders include John Crout (chemical engineer), Carl Dragstedt
(M.D.), and Louis Leon and Thelma Gwinn Thurstone (and continued by two of their sons, Fredrick L. and Robert L. Thurstone. The camp is mentioned in Edwin G. Boring
's A History of psychology in autobiography and in the obituaries of various individuals involved with the colony.
Antrim County, Michigan
-History:Antrim County was formed in 1863. In 1950 its population was 10,721. The county seat was originally located in Elk Rapids, but was moved to Bellaire in 1904 after 25 years of litigation.-Demographics:...
and Grand Traverse counties in Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan , is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan...
. The lake is about a mile and a half wide (2.4 km) and nine miles (14 km) long, and is centered at 44°51′N 85°23′W near the town of Elk Rapids
Elk Rapids, Michigan
Elk Rapids is a village in Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,700 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Elk Rapids Township, about north of Traverse City. It is physically split by the Elk River, which runs between nearby Elk Lake and Grand Traverse...
. It has maximum depth of 192 ft (59 m), making it Michigan's second deepest after Torch Lake
Torch Lake (Antrim County, Michigan)
Torch Lake at long is Michigan's longest inland lake and at approximately 18,770 acres is Michigan's second largest inland lake. National Geographic rated it the third most beautiful lake in the world. An average property on Torch Lake costs approximately two million dollars...
. It is a popular lake for fishing, featuring lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
, rock bass
Rock bass
The rock bass , also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, or red eye is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. They are similar in appearance to smallmouth bass but are usually quite a bit smaller...
, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, muskellunge
Muskellunge
A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...
, ciscoes
Cisco (fish)
The ciscoes are salmonid fish of the genus Coregonus that differ from other members of the genus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high gillraker counts...
, brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, and whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
.
This deep, clear, caribbean-colored lake is very much a smaller version of the more famous Torch Lake, which lies just to the east. Elk Lake is part of a watershed that begins in northern Antrim County with Intermediate Lake, which is connected by the Intermediate River with Lake Bellaire. The Grass River
Grass River (Michigan)
The Grass River is a short river in Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of a watershed that begins in northern Antrim County with Intermediate Lake, which is connected by the Intermediate River with Lake Bellaire. The Grass River flows from Lake Bellaire into Clam Lake, which...
flows from Lake Bellaire into Clam Lake, which in turn drains into Torch Lake via the short Clam River
Clam River (Michigan)
-References:*...
. Torch Lake is drained by the Torch River, which flows into Lake Skegemog
Lake Skegemog
Lake Skegemog is a Northern Michigan lake located on the border of three counties, Antrim County, Michigan, Grand Traverse County, Michigan, and Kalkaska County, Michigan, with a surface area of . The Lake is attached to Elk Lake and is considered to be part of the Northwest Michigan Chain O'Lakes...
, which opens into Elk Lake. Elk Lake flows through Elk River
Elk River (Michigan)
The Elk River is a very short but significant river in the Lake Michigan drainage basin of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is only 1.5 miles in length, and flows from Elk Lake into Grand Traverse Bay. It forms a waterway and harbor for the municipality of Elk Rapids.Elk Lake is 192 feet deep and...
into the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay
Grand Traverse Bay
Grand Traverse Bay is a bay of Lake Michigan formed by part of Northern Michigan. The bay is long, 10 miles wide, and up to deep in spots. It is divided into two arms by the Old Mission Peninsula...
at Elk Rapids. This watershed is popularly known as the Chain of Lakes.
Nearby is a sign marking the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
and the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. This is one of six Michigan sites and 29 places in the U.S.A. where such signs are known to exist.
Wabigama club
Wabigama is a private colony situated on the eastern bank of Elk Lake in Rapid City, Michigan. It was founded in 1951 by Lester DragstedtLester Dragstedt
Lester Reynold Dragstedt was the first surgeon to successfully separate siamese twins.-Career:During the 1920s, he was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago....
and other University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
professors. Founding members were leaders with a common interest in academic and applied research including (among others) medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Friends comprised the remaining members.
The club has offered anonymity from the local community, refuge from their public life and some of the few remaining wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
areas on private land. The club's land tract was surrounded by rural life until the late 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
when commercial interests started encroaching. The camp is located less than five miles (8 km) from one of Northern Michigan's best-known vacation areas, on the south end of Torch Lake
Torch Lake (Antrim County, Michigan)
Torch Lake at long is Michigan's longest inland lake and at approximately 18,770 acres is Michigan's second largest inland lake. National Geographic rated it the third most beautiful lake in the world. An average property on Torch Lake costs approximately two million dollars...
.
Membership is closed and has been passed through family lines for three generations. Some the better-known founders include John Crout (chemical engineer), Carl Dragstedt
Carl Dragstedt
Carl Dragstedt is a scientist who discovered the role of Histamine in Anaphylaxis.He was a chairman of the Northwestern University's pharmacology department, a Northwestern professor for 38 years and a retired physician with a practice in Edison Park.- References :...
(M.D.), and Louis Leon and Thelma Gwinn Thurstone (and continued by two of their sons, Fredrick L. and Robert L. Thurstone. The camp is mentioned in Edwin G. Boring
Edwin G. Boring
Edwin Garrigues Boring was an experimental psychologist who later became one of the first historians of psychology. He was born on October 23, 1886 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in a Quaker family dominated by women; he was the youngest and only son in a family of four...
's A History of psychology in autobiography and in the obituaries of various individuals involved with the colony.