Clam Lake Canal

Clam Lake Canal
Clam Lake Canal from M-115 (May 2017)
Location within the state of Michigan
Location	Mitchell State Park Cadillac, Michigan
Country	United States
Coordinates	44°14′22″N 85°27′13″W / 44.23944°N 85.45361°W / 44.23944; -85.45361
Specifications
Maximum height above sea level	1,289 ft (393 m)
Status	Open
Maximum width	48 feet (14.6 m)
History
Former names	Black Creek[1]
Modern name	Cadillac Canal[2]
Current owner	Michigan DNR
Original owner	George A. Mitchell
Principal engineer	Clam Lake Improvement and Construction Company
Date completed	1873
Geography
Connects to	Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell (originally known as Big Clam Lake and Little Clam Lake)
Depth	2.25 feet (0.69 m)

Clam Lake Canal
Clam Lake Canal historic marker
Michigan State Historic Site
Designated	March 16, 1989

The Clam Lake Canal (sometimes called the Cadillac Canal)^[3] is a man-made canal between Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac in Cadillac, Michigan made by George A. Mitchell in the 1870s. The purpose of the canal was to facilitate the movement of logs to sawmills.

The canal displays an unusual water phenomenon; it is frozen over in the first part of the winter when the lakes on each side of it are unfrozen. Then when the adjacent lakes freeze, the canal remains unfrozen.