Thumb Lake
lake in Charlevoix County, Michigan, USA
Thumb Lake, also known as Lake Louise by the "Lake Louise Camp" community, is a kettle lake located in Hudson Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan, United States. The epithet Thumb Lake derives from the lake's bathymetry. An islet protrudes from the lake's west basin. The total surface area of the lake is 484 acres (2.0 km2), with maximum depths of 152 feet (46 m).
The misnomer "Lake Louise" comes from a former Camp director who wanted to rename the lake after his wife.
The lake is nestled in the highlands east of the village of Boyne Falls, centered at 45°11′N 84°45′W, and is surrounded by wooded hills. Because of its depth and the dearth of run-off into the lake, its waters are exceptionally clear. The lake is inhabited by splake, a stocked hybrid species (lake trout and brook trout), rainbow trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, largemouth bass, smelt, and other panfish. Public access is available on the eastern shore of the lake in the form of a park with swimming beach, and on the southwestern shore in the form of a boat launch.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Thumb Lake” is lake in Charlevoix County, Michigan, USA. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Thumb, Lake and lake, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “lake in Charlevoix County, Michigan, USA” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7335953. Authority coordinates are 45.183, -84.750. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thumb Lake”, its source revision and the description used here.
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thumb Lake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.