I would like to know the size, in acres, of Bright Lake which is
located in Leelanau County, Michigan.  (Careful please, there are
other Bright Lakes in Michigan.)

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Request for Question Clarification by redhoss-ga on 02 Jun 2005 19:57 PDT

I have located Bright Lake in Leelanau County, Michigan on a topo map.
I can scale off the map and find the size of the lake when it is at
274 meters elevation. Of course the size will vary depending on how
full the lake is at the time. I can calculate an approximate area of
the lake in acres from the scaled measurements. Would this be a
satisfactory answer.

Hello hulk48, since there have been no other attempts to answer your
question, I will give you what I consider to be a good answer. I found
a topo map of Bright Lake here:

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=11&Z=16&X=1479&Y=12407&W=3&qs=%7cnorthport%7cmichigan%7c

Using the scale on the map and allowing for the irregular shape of the
lake contour I came up with a size of 400 x 250 yards. This equates to
approximately 20 acres (43,560 sq. ft. per acre). The only way I know
to get a more accurate answer would be to print the map and use a
planimeter to determine the area. Or, there are computer programs
available to calculate areas. Either of these techniques would be
outside the limitations of a $10 solution. Hopefully my estimate will
satisfy your needs. Please ask for a clarification if I can help you
further.

This was a very timely and seemingly accurate response.  Perhaps a
call to the county would have been useful to avoid the calculation or
confirm the response.

HI Hulk48,
ONe other way you could get a rough estimate is to print the map and
enlarge it by photocopying (or maybe you can download it and do that
on your computer).

Paste the map on cardboard and using the map scale at the bottom right
cut out a measured square and weigh it with a letter scale, giving you
a weight for a measured area.  Then cut out the lake and weigh it and
calculate its area by a comparison with the weight of the measured
piece.
Of course, an electronic scale in grams would probably be necessary.

Another possibility, of course, is to call the county or state and ask someone.

Myoarin