Lake Independence is located in Marquette County

Marquette County, Michigan

-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Huron National Wildlife Refuge* Ottawa National Forest -University:Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula...

 in the Upper Peninsula

Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The lake is fed primarily by the Yellow Dog River

Yellow Dog River

The Yellow Dog River flows through Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is approximately 51 miles in length, with about 85 miles of tributaries. The main branch begins at the outflow from Bulldog Lake in the Ottawa National Forest on the boundary between...

. The lake is naturally occurring, but its level has been stabilized and raised slightly to 625 feet above mean sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

 by a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

. Outflow is the short Iron River

Iron River (Marquette County, Michigan)

-References:*...

, which flows slightly over one mile into Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

.

It is located in the eastern part of Powell Township

Powell Township, Michigan

Powell Township is a civil township of Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 724 at the 2000 census.- Communities :...

 at 46°48′20"N 87°42′17"W, with the town of Big Bay

Big Bay, Michigan

Big Bay is an unincorporated community in Marquette County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes and does not have any legal status as an incorporated municipality. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 265...

at the northwest corner of the lake.

Lake Independence is 1860 acres (7.5 km²) and reaches a depth of 30 feet. It contains many species of fish, including black crappie, bluegill, brown trout, cisco, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, and yellow perch.

The lake can be accessed by county roads 550 and 552. Its recreational uses include swimming and fishing.