How deep is North Lake?

North Lake is at least 92 feet deep. That figure is the deepest surveyed sounding in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, a point measurement rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is the 90 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.

Where is the deepest part of North Lake?

The deepest charted water on North Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% 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 North Lake is shallower than 30 feet?

About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 27 acres of the roughly 67 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 15 feet, where the mapped water sheds 11 acres.

How accurate is this North 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

North Lake depth map

North Lake in Alcona County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 92 feet at its deepest surveyed sounding. North Lake is charted here across 10 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 90 ft, enclosing about 67 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, and only under an acre 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

North Lake depth chart: 10 depth contours from 10 to 90 ft

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

North Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	67 acres	100%
15 ft	56 acres	84%
20 ft	45 acres	68%
30 ft	27 acres	40%
40 ft	14 acres	22%
50 ft	8.3 acres	12%
60 ft	4.1 acres	6.2%
70 ft	2.4 acres	3.7%
80 ft	1.3 acres	1.9%
90 ft	under 1 acre	under 1%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 67 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 10 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 92 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing North Lake: a wide shallow flat over a deep hole

Inside its outermost 10 ft contour the survey charts about 67 acres of North Lake, with the 30 ft line enclosing half of it, so most of this Alcona County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 10 and 15 ft, where the mapped water loses 11 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. The 90 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake, encloses under an acre of water, a single pocket rather than a basin, but one worth a drift over in high summer. At 92 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 10-to-30 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 10–15 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on North Lake

Deep water like North 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 90 ft hole. That edge is the 10–15 ft band on the chart above, where 11 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 10-to-30 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

North Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is North Lake?: North Lake is at least 92 feet deep. That figure is the deepest surveyed sounding in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, a point measurement rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is the 90 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.
Where is the deepest part of North Lake?: The deepest charted water on North Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% 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 North Lake is shallower than 30 feet?: About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 27 acres of the roughly 67 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 15 feet, where the mapped water sheds 11 acres.
How accurate is this North 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 North Lake

Hunters Lake depth map · 82 ft max · 1 mi away
Loon Lake depth map · 128+ ft max · 13 mi away
Long Lake depth map · 62 ft max · 13 mi away
McCollum Lake depth map · 60 ft max · 17 mi away
Rifle Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 18 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near North Lake

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

Hunters Lake · 1 mi away
Loon Lake · 13 mi away
Long Lake · 13 mi away

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