How deep is Cedar Island Lake?

Cedar Island Lake reaches a maximum depth of 72 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 9 closed depth contours over about 145 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 40 ft line. The 72 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 70 ft.

Where is the deepest part of Cedar Island Lake?

The deepest charted water on Cedar Island Lake lies inside the 70 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 13 acres, 8.7% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.

How much of Cedar Island Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 60 acres of the roughly 145 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 33 acres.

How accurate is this Cedar Island Lake depth map?

The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.

Michigan lake depth maps

Cedar Island Lake depth map

Cedar Island Lake in Oakland County, Michigan reaches a depth of 72 feet. Cedar Island Lake is charted here across 9 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 70 ft, enclosing about 145 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 13 acres lie inside the deepest one. Every contour is on the interactive map below, free and without an account.

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record). Contours closed, checked and area-computed by Jordan Carter, founder of GilledIt · page updated August 19, 2026

Cedar Island Lake depth chart: 9 depth contours from 5 to 70 ft

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record), retrieved August 2026 · depths change over time · not for navigation

Cedar Island Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	145 acres	100%
10 ft	112 acres	77%
15 ft	102 acres	70%
20 ft	95 acres	66%
30 ft	82 acres	57%
40 ft	60 acres	42%
50 ft	37 acres	26%
60 ft	20 acres	14%
70 ft	13 acres	8.7%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 145 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 5 ft line), which is the outer edge of the mapped water, several state files carry no 0 ft shoreline line, so this is not the same as a share of the lake's published surface area. The survey also records a 72 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Cedar Island Lake: a stepped drop into deep water

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 145 acres of Cedar Island Lake, with the 40 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bottom steps down contour by contour into the deep basin rather than shelving flat or plunging all at once. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 10 ft, where the mapped water loses 33 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 13 acres, 8.7% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 70 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. At 72 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 5-to-40 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 5–10 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Cedar Island Lake

Deep water like Cedar Island Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow lakes around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break, not out over the 70 ft hole. That edge is the 5–10 ft band on the chart above, where 33 acres of bottom tilt away, and panfish and walleye work up and down it through the day. By late ice the fish push back onto the 5-to-40 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Cedar Island Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Cedar Island Lake?: Cedar Island Lake reaches a maximum depth of 72 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 9 closed depth contours over about 145 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 40 ft line. The 72 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 70 ft.
Where is the deepest part of Cedar Island Lake?: The deepest charted water on Cedar Island Lake lies inside the 70 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 13 acres, 8.7% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Cedar Island Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 60 acres of the roughly 145 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 33 acres.
How accurate is this Cedar Island Lake depth map?: The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.

Depth maps for lakes near Cedar Island Lake

Oxbow Lake depth map · 72+ ft max · 1 mi away
Cooley Lake depth map · 56 ft max · 2 mi away
Pontiac Lake depth map · 34 ft max · 3 mi away
Union Lake depth map · 110 ft max · 3 mi away
South Commerce Lake depth map · 60 ft max · 4 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Cedar Island Lake

Cedar Island Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.

Oxbow Lake · 1 mi away
Cooley Lake · 2 mi away
Pontiac Lake · 3 mi away

Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues