Beaver Island ArchiveA primary-source archive & encyclopedia45°40′N 85°33′W · Lake Michigan
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Lake

Lake Maria

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Lake Maria highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Locator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeLake
Coordinates45.7318° N, 85.6596° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
WithinHigh Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: Lake Maria highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Locator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
LakeGNIS 631551
Coordinates
45.7318° N, 85.6596° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
environmentconservationheritagetourism
Within
High Island

Summary

Lake Maria is a GNIS-named lake on High Island. A current OpenStreetMap snapshot contains a matching named water polygon carrying GNIS feature 631551 and tags it as a lake sourced from the National Hydrography Dataset. A local Beaver Island Net excursion account describes the surrounding remains and landscape: old cabins, a mill boiler, two DNR-built frame houses later used by gull researchers and visitors, former fields, farm equipment, and signs of wetland and beaver activity. The account is a useful local observation, but it does not establish the dates or full history of those features.

Open questions

  • When were the cabins, mill, fields, and DNR houses built and abandoned?
  • Which agency or property records document High Island land use and the lake’s ecological history?

Maps for this place

These Atlas plates provide regional context. They do not establish a precise boundary, current ownership, access right, operating status, or field condition.

  • EnvironmentSoils, wetlands, hydrography, and terrain
  • GeologyGeneralized geology and landforms
  • HydrologyMapped water and wetland context
  • AccessMapped routes, facilities, and protected areas

Sources

  1. GNIS feature 631551; feature class 'Lake'.
    federal · gnis · gnis_names
  2. Way 143508914 is named Lake Maria, tagged natural=water and water=lake, and carries GNIS feature 631551; its source tags identify the National Hydrography Dataset.
    osm · natural
  3. Local excursion account describes old cabins, the remains of a mill boiler, DNR frame houses later used by gull researchers and visitors, former fields, farm equipment, and wetland/beaver activity around Lake Maria on High Island.
    websites · www.beaverisland.net · Excursions · High_Island · Lake_Maria · lake_maria

Added 28 July 2026 · revised 1 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Lake Maria”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/places/lake-maria/, accessed [date], citing U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, Domestic Names (Michigan), retrieved 2026-07-28. (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-01. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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