Manistique Lake, locally called Big Manistique Lake to distinguish it from the other lakes in the Manistique Lakes system, is a 10130 acres (4,099.5 ha) lake in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long and 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, it is one of the largest lakes in the Upper Peninsula. Elevated 686 feet (209.1 m) above sea level and 105 feet (32 m) above Lake Michigan, Lake Manistique drains into the larger lake through a marshy outlet on the west end of the lake that forms one source of the Manistique River

Manistique River

The Manistique River is a 67-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Michigan that winds southward through the central Upper Peninsula from its headwaters near Lake Superior to its mouth in Lake Michigan. It drains approximately of the Upper Peninsula, including most of Schoolcraft County and small...

. Relatively shallow, the lake's deepest point is only 20 feet (6.1 m) below the water surface. The average depth is 10 feet (3 m).

The lake is shared between Luce County

Luce County, Michigan

-Government:The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates themajor local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers...

 and Mackinac County

Mackinac County, Michigan

-Local Airports:*Mackinac County Airport *Mackinac Island Airport -Airline service:The nearest airports with scheduled passenger service are:*Chippewa County International Airport in Sault Ste...

. The small town of Curtis, Michigan is located on an isthmus

Isthmus

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...

 that divides Manistique Lake from South Manistique Lake

South Manistique Lake

South Manistique Lake is a lake in Mackinac County, in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Approximately miles long and miles wide, it is oriented in a southwest-northeast direction...

 directly to the south.

Manistique Lake has at least three islands large enough to show up on maps - Burnt Island near the eastern shore, Foster Island near the northern shore, and Greenfield Island near the center of the lake.

Many seasonal residents use Manistique Lake as a focus of summer recreational activity. The relatively shallow lake is favored for swimming, powerboating, personal watercraft, fishing, and camping. Fish caught in the lake include bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

, muskie

Muskie

Muskie may refer to:*Ed Muskie, American politician*Muskellunge, freshwater fish native to North America...

, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, 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...

, 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...

, sunfish

Sunfish

-Saltwater fishes:*Molidae, family of Ocean Sunfishes*Opah, family Lampridae; two species-Freshwater fishes:* Pygmy sunfish, six members of the genus Elassoma* Centrarchidae, a perciform family of about 27 species...

, and walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

.