Kalkaska County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,939. The county seat is Kalkaska.
Kalkaska County is part of the Traverse City metropolitan area. Although it is located in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Kalkaska County is considered part of Northern Michigan.
History
thumb|A detail from [[:File:1842 A new map of Michigan with its canals roads distances by H.S. Tanner.jpg|A New Map of Michigan with its Canals, Roads & Distances (1842) by Henry Schenck Tanner, showing Kalkaska County as "Wabbassee" (a misspelling of Wabassee, the county's name from 1840 to 1843. renamed in 1843. The first settler in Kalkaska County was William Copeland, from England, who purchased land in the northwest corner of the county in 1855. Kalkaska County was organized in its own right on January 27, 1871. Crawford County was then temporarily attached to Kalkaska County for legal purposes.
Etymology
The county's name is a pseudo-Native American neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, a Michigan geographer and ethnologist.
Some theorists suggest this is word play. Schoolcraft's family name had been Calcraft, and the Ks may have been added to make the name appear more like a Native American word.
Alternatively, the name may be derived from a Chippewa word meaning flat or burned-over country.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (1.9%) are covered by water.
Kalkaska sand, the state soil of Michigan, was named after the county because of the large amounts deposited in the area from glaciers in the Ice Age.
Kalkaska County has over 80 lakes and of streams and rivers. Much of the county is marshland. County elevation ranges from to about . This makes it one of the more uneven counties in the Lower Peninsula.
The Pere Marquette State Forest covers much of the county. Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is the Grayling outwash plain, a broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges, jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest. Large lakes were created by glacial action.
Lakes
- Torch Lake
- Starvation Lake
- Lake Skegemog
- Bear Lake
- Manistee Lake
- Grass Lake
- Rainbow Lake
- Blue Lake
- Cub Lake
- Twin Lake
- Little Twin Lake
- Pickerel Lake
- Squaw Lake
- Indian Lake
- Perch Lake
- Crawford Lake
- Lost Lake
- Johnson Rd Lake
- Log Lake
- Selkirk Lake
- Kettle Lake
- Lake Placid
- Sand Lake
- Twenty Eight Lakes
- East Lake
- Long Lake
- Lake Five
- Wheeler Lake
- Fife Lake
Rivers
- Boardman River
- Little Rapid River
- Manistee River
- Rapid River
- Torch River
Major highways
- – runs NE through the western part of the county. Enters at north of SW corner; exits into Antrim County near midpoint of north county line.
- – runs north–south through west-central part of county. Passes Kalkaska.
- – runs east and ESE through middle portion of county. Passes Kalkaska.
Adjacent counties
- Antrim County – north
- Otsego County – northeast
- Crawford County – east
- Roscommon County – southeast
- Missaukee County – south
- Wexford County – southwest
- Grand Traverse County – west
Communities
thumb|400px|[[United States Census|U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Kalkaska County]]
Village
- Kalkaska (county seat)
Civil townships
- Bear Lake Township
- Blue Lake Township
- Boardman Township
- Clearwater Township
- Coldsprings Township
- Excelsior Township
- Garfield Township
- Kalkaska Township
- Oliver Township
- Orange Township
- Rapid River Township
- Springfield Township
Former townships
- Glade Township
- Wilson Township
Census-designated places
- Bear Lake
- Manistee Lake
- Rapid City
- South Boardman
Unincorporated communities
- Barker Creek
- Crofton
- Darragh
- Houseman
- Leetsville
- Lodi
- Sigma
- Spencer
- Torch River