THE COMEDY OF CRYSTAL LAKE: RE-CREATION OF AN HISTORIC CANAL THAT BECAME A BEACH STACY LEROY DANIELS BENZIE CO. RIVER IMPROVEMENT CO. IMAGIN JUNE 19, 2018 Abstract Crystal Lake, the 9th largest inland lake in MI, was lowered in 1873 in a failed attempt to build a canal to nearby Lake Michigan. GIS analysis of a QL2 LiDAR dataset (MiSAIL) allowed re-creation of elevation drop; lake surface lost; water volume discharged; beach width gained; and dredged volume for three canals (*). (*) 17 ft; 2,000 A, 21 mi; 56 Bgal; 88 ft; 105 Kyd 3 The Crystal Lake Canals Outline • Location & Description of Crystal Lake • “Tragedy” / “Comedy of Crystal Lake • Topography & Bathymetry; Maps & Data • Geomorphic Analysis & 3D Modelling • Re-Creation & Recreation Greetings from Crystal Lake ! Crystal Lake is like a blue sapphire ring upon the first knuckle of the little finger of the left-hand mitten (palm down) depicting the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. A Brood of Lakelets Winchell, Alexander, Climate of the Lake Region, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 43(254), 275-285 (Jul 1871). Michigan Groundwater Mapping Project, Public Act 148 of 2003, Michigan Lakes, Crystal Lake ~ 11,000 YBP Crystal Lake - An open embayment of glacial Lake Algonquin Climate change—the long view Maps of changing ice-margin positions 31,500 - 11,000 ybp https://wgnhs.uwex.edu/wisconsin- geology/ice-age/ Crystal Lake & Environs Photograph® by Marge Beaver, Photography Plus, 2005. Geological History of Crystal Lake • “During the Algonquin stage, the Crystal Lake depression was connected with the waters in the Michigan basin by three channels. The Betsie River valley was flooded for several miles upstream from its mouth at Frankfort, and a connection existed between it and the Crystal Lake depression at the low sag in the Frankfort moraine, now occupied by the outlet of Crystal Lake. • Likewise a connection with the waters that flooded the Platte Lake depression was made through the Round Lake sag in the Point Betsie moraine, on the north side of Crystal Lake. • The bar between Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan was not in existence and the waters of Lake Algonquin had free access to the depression from the west (pl. VI, A). • -- Calver, James Lewis, The Glacial and Post-Glacial History of the Platte and Crystal Lake Depressions, Benzie County, Michigan, Occasional Papers for 1946 on the Geology of Michigan, Part I., Mich. Geol. Survey, Pub. 45, Geol. Ser. 38, Pt. II, 1947, 70pp. Digital Elevation Model Crystal Lake is ringed by moraines and terraces. Crystal Lake Watershed The “Tragedy” / “Comedy” “The Tragedy”: (Sad Beginning) • In 1873, Crystal Lake was 35 ft above Lake Michigan. • An attempt was made to construct a slack-water canal to Lake Michigan. • Whitecap waves washed out a temporary dam. • The lake level dropped 17 ft as 56 billion gal of water flushed down the outlet. • A 21-mile perimeter of “barren beach” (432 ft depth) was exposed. • A perceived “failure” of an “ill-conceived” project by an apparent scapegoat ? “The Comedy”: (Happy Ending) • The founding of the Village of Beulah, the coming of the railroad, installation of telegraph and telephone lines, development of lakeside resorts, construction of 1,100 cottages, all connected by an infrastructure of perimeter roads and trails. • Property value in 2016 was >$600,000,000. • An epochal event that had a permanent bearing on the subsequent development of Benzie County and one of the major incidents of the county's early history. • An unqualified “success” by a visionary celebrated as a local hero ! Archibald Jones, Jr. (1811-1890) President of the Benzie Co. River Improvement Co. Responsible for the enterprise that resulted in the lowering of Crystal Lake by 20 ft in 1873. “The top of Crystal Lake was too far above the beach !” On The Draining of Lakes • “It would seem axiomatic that the shores and surrounding country should be well drained, if the lake is to be useful for summer homes, in order to secure healthful living conditions and to insure a minimum of pests. However, the writer has seen far too many resorts planned on a magnificent scale which exist only on plats executed for the use of distant real estate dealers and has helped in locating some of the properties only to find them situated on an insignificant lake in the midst of a swamp .” • Physiographic study would eliminate this. An ideal site, … is to be found on lakes which have stood for a considerable time at an appreciably higher level – of which Michigan has many – for under these conditions a sandy terrace is now exposed high and dry above the level, surmounted by a cliff of varying height from the base of which springs of cool, pure water often flow(!).” • “As stated above, lakes have served a useful purpose in the storing of water for various projects which, in most cases, necessitates the building of a dam (or a canal), thereby interfering with the natural level of the lake in question.” • -- Irving Day Scott, “ Inland Lakes of Michigan” , 1921. Stock Certificate [(*) Original stock certificate found under a tapestry in the Benzonia Library.] $25 invested at 8% and compounded for 137 years ~ $1,000,000 ! Historical Site Marker [(*) Dedicated at the Crystal Lake Outlet, 22 Aug 2015.] Map Showing Sources & Courses of the PLATTE & BETSEY RIVERS, BENZIE COUNTY, MICH. Together with Some of the Obstructions and Proposed Improvements , DRAWN for the BENZIE COUNTY RIVER IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, by B.C. Hubbell, DRAFTSMAN, Benzonia, Mich. (ca. 1873) Crystal Lake Canal System Overlays of Current Crystal Lake and Its Watershed by Michael Michelak. Topography/Bathymetry of Lakes • Topographic maps show elevations (levels) of land forms above a lake surface. • Bathymetric maps show depths (levels) of landforms below a lake surface. • Both elevations and depths are described by contour lines, a series of locations at a constant level. • The surface of Crystal Lake is 600 feet above sea level. • The hills (moraines) around Crystal Lake (on the avg.) are about twice as “high” as the Lake is “deep”. • A moraine is a ridge of rocks and sediment moved and deposited in ridges by glaciers. How Best to Estimate D, A, V ? • Bathymetric maps (Water surface area and volume afo depth) • Hypsographic extrapolation (Water meets the land) • Planimetric maps (Position but no topo) • Topographic maps (Land area afo of elevation) The Level of Crystal Lake is variable because it is high, low, up, down, in, out, or Crystal Lake – Its Many Levels Terraces are “steps” of land above & below the water surface. CRYSTAL LAKE HYPSOGRAPH (Derived from combination Topo-Bathy) 640 630 620 HIGH ~ 612 FT 610 NOW ~ 600 FT (BREAKLINE) 600 ELEVATION, FT ELEVATION, LOW ~ 595 FT 590 580 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 LAKE AREA, A Hypsographical Extrapolation Shoreline & Backwater Areas (dunes and swales) South Canal (Outlet Dam) A B 604 A “South Canal: A to B B 602 600 598 596 564 592 0 5000 North Canal (Round Lake) Outlet route Focus Maps Geomorphic Features (Round Lake) Water elevations (Things to lookB for…) A 616 A B 612 “North” Canal: A to B 608 604 600 596 0 3000 West Canal (CSA) A B 620 B A “West “ Canal: A to B 610 600 590 580 0 4000 Canal Routes & Lake Elevations 585’ 612’ 577’ CANALS: “SOUTH” ; “NORTH” ; “WEST” (REV. 061918) 39 620 615 CRYSTAL LAKE LEVELS HIGH = 612 FT 610 NOW = 600 FT LOW = 595 FT 605 600 595 AT BETSIE RIVER 590 ELEVATION, FT ELEVATION, 585 AT PLATTE LAKE 580 AT LAKE MICHIGAN 575 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000 DISTANCE, FT SOUTH NORTH WEST Lake Parameters Lake High Low Now Year 1873 1904 2018 Elev, ft 612 595 600 L, mi 8.71 8.09 8.13 W, mi 3.31 2.75 2.79 D, ft 177 160 165 P, mi 27.478 21.942 21.709 A, Acre 10,754 8,753 9,896 V, Bgal 261 205 221 ΔA, % - 18.6 (H - L) - 8.0 (H - N) ΔV, % (~) - 21.4 (H - L) - 15.3 (H - N) Canal & Beach Parameters Canals Lengths, mi Dredged • Name Land Water L+W Vol, yd 3 South 1.04 8.65 9.69 30.5 North 1.52 8.77 10.29 29.6 West 1.01 .00 1.01 44.5 Totals 3.57 17.42 20.99 104.6 Beach Elev, ft ΔE, ft ΔA, A ΔV, Bgal Width, ft 612-600 12 858 40 88 600-595 5 1,143 15 432 612-595 17 2,001 (!) 55 668(?) By Guess or by Gosh! (I) • “Very few people who are familiar with the present appearance of Crystal Lake and the wide beach which completely surrounds it, realize that up to 1873 the water was much higher than it is at present—eight or ten feet at least (sic, twelve feet). It reached to the woods and the foot of the surrounding hills, leaving little or no space between the water and the over-hanging trees.” • “Its area at that time was some two thousand acres (sic, 2001 A) more of surface than at present, and during severe storms the waves were much higher and the white caps more numerous. On the early maps of the region, indeed, the lake was called "Cap Lake“, probably so named because of the special prominence of the white caps upon its surface, even with but moderate wind.” • -- William L. Case, “The Tragedy of Crystal Lake ”, 1922, page 1. By Guess or by Gosh! (II) • Luman B. Gorivan (1868-1971), a participant in log drives on the Betsie River, recalled the canal story: • “Years ago, after it happened, there was a beach, my gosh, I don’t know it must have been twenty rods wide (330 ft) all around that (Crystal Lake).