Clam Lake Canal

The Clam Lake Canal (sometimes called the Cadillac Canal) 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.

Background
Mitchell persuaded the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad to change their original route layout between the lakes, redirecting it to the eastern end of the Little Clam Lake, in the southeast corner of Wexford County, Michigan. Mitchell widened the stream to be able to float logs from one lake to the other and collect fees for the usage of the waterway.

Enlargement and current use
The Clam Lake Canal has been widened six times over the years to about 50 ft, and is used as a recreational passage between the lakes. The canal was dedicated as a Michigan State Historic Site on March 16, 1989.

Freezing phenomenon
In the winter, Clam Lake Canal often displays an unusual phenomenon; it freezes over in the first part of the winter, when the lakes on each side are unfrozen. When the lakes freeze over in the mid-winter months, the canal thaws.