The shallow, 24-acre Little Lake is the only
inland lake located on Washington Island.
Located within 250 feet of Lake Michigan, it is
primarily fed by groundwater springs and
surface water. The small, landlocked lake was
created thousands of years ago through
deposition of wave-washed gravel across a
shallow bay mouth of glacial Lake Nippising. As
the glacial waters receded, a 250-foot wide
cobblestone ridge was formed that helped create
Little Lake. The present lake level is just
three feet above that of Lake Michigan. On the
north end of the lake is a coastal fen that
supports many calcareous-loving plants such as
buckbean, marsh bellflower, and marsh
cinquefoil. Other species include swamp rose,
grass pink, elliptic spike-rush, swamp
loosestrife, bulblet water-hemlock, and
numerous sedges. Older stands of white cedar
and hemlock surround the lake.