Another endowment of the Wisconsin glacier is the remarkable collection of lakes in West Bloomfield. There are more lakes and ponds here than in any other township in the United States with the exception of one in Minnesota. Within West Bloomfield’s borders are 19,900 acres, of which 20 percent are in the form of lakes. The two largest are Cass Lake, covering 1,200 acres and Orchard Lake, encompassing 850 acres. The entire lake system is drained by the Clinton, Huron, and Rouge rivers. Geologists believe that the origin of these lake basins was the thawing of stagnant, isolated ice masses within the glacial deposits.3 In late Pleistocene times the larger lakes appear to have been much higher than current levels.

This can be seen in the pronounced bluff line east of Orchard Lake on the campus of St. Mary’s College and Preparatory School and SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. Excerpt from "Song of the Heron" by Charles Martinez.