Lamberton Lake is a freshwater lake located in Kent County in Western Michigan. The lake is approximately long and wide and is centered at just within the city limits in northeast Grand Rapids. The surface elevation is , and most of the lake is less than deep. There is one island in the lake, approximately long and wide, located in the northwest part of the lake. A low ridge runs along the east side of the lake and overlooks it.
Hydrology Lamberton Lake is fed by Lamberton Creek, which flows from Emerald Lake to Lamberton Lake, entering the lake at the northeast. Two springs also feed the lake. Lamberton Lake discharges into Lamberton Creek at the southeast. Lamberton Creek flows south, then turns west and eventually flows into the Grand River.
Natural environment Most of the lake bottom is composed of marl; the deeper parts are mostly composed of pulpy peat."LAMBERTON_LAKE.PDF" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 1942. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
Located both to the northwest and southeast of the lake in two parcels sits the 24 acre Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve, managed by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan."Lamberton Lake Fen Nature Preserve - Land Conservancy of West Michigan". Land Conservancy of West Michigan. Retrieved September 3, 2015. Established in 1994, it was expanded ten years later. Lamberton Creek flows from the lake through the preserve's southeast parcel, where the fen is located. The fen is home to many native plant and animal species.
The wetlands around the lake were more extensive in the past. However, already by 1901 much of this area had been reclaimed. This was due to a lower lake level caused by the deepening of the creek.Cole, Emma J. Grand Rapids Flora: A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Without Cultivation in the Vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids, Michigan: A. Van Dort, Book and Job Printer, 1901, p. xv.
History In the late nineteenth century Lamberton Lake with Lamberton Creek was under consideration as one of several possible sources for the water supply of the growing city of Grand Rapids.Grand Rapids (Mich.) Dept. of Public Service. Report of the City Surveyor on Additional Water Supply for the City of Grand Rapids. W. W. Hart's Arcade Steam Book and Job Printing House, 1880, p. 3-44. Baxter, Albert. History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan ...: (With an Appendix—History of Lowell, Michigan). New York: Munsell & Company, Publishers, 1891, p. 206-208.
See also List of lakes in Michigan
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