Shaping the Land

Shaping the Land. . , Kettles , As you look at the lake in front of you, try to imagine it filled with an enormous block of ice one quarter mile in height! The heavy weight of the ice that once sat right here, along with the rock, sand and gravel that were deposited around the ice, created the topography of the land. As the ice melted, a depression remained, which is referred to as a kettle hole. Many of the smaller inland lakes of Michigan, including this one, Lake Genevieve, are kettle lakes. Not all kettle holes are lakes; many of these depressions are now wetland habitat or even low dry areas. , Kames , When trees have lost their leaves, you may be able to see the rounded hill directly across the lake from where you are standing. It is made of sand and gravel deposited by the melting glacier, just like the other hills in Park Lyndon. But, unlike most other hills, this one is completely surrounded by wetland and lake habitat. This type of isolated hill is called a kame., Watch your step! , An interesting change is occurring on part of Lake Genevieve. It seems that a bog may be forming. A bog is a wetland with peat soils and acid conditions. A floating mat has formed near the edge of the west side of Lake Genevieve. The mat is strong enough to hold the weight of a human. If you were to jump up and down on it you could feel it bounce. Many of the plants found on Lake Genevieve's mat are indicators of bog habitat: leatherleaf, cranberry and sphagnum mosses are three acid loving plants. Once these plants become established, they can serve as a nucleus for continued expansion of the floating mat. Someday, the floating mat may grow its way to this side of Lake Genevieve!