West Traverse Township, Michigan

West Traverse Township, Michigan
Civil township
Location within Emmet County
West Traverse Township Location within the state of Michigan Show map of Michigan West Traverse Township West Traverse Township (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 45°27′29″N 85°01′20″W / 45.45806°N 85.02222°W / 45.45806; -85.02222
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Emmet
Established	1897
Government
• Supervisor	Ed Murphy
• Clerk	Joseph (Jay) Olson
Area
• Total	13.39 sq mi (34.7 km2)
• Land	13.37 sq mi (34.6 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation	945 ft (288 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,768
• Density	130/sq mi (51/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49740 (Harbor Springs)
Area code	231
FIPS code	26-86300[1]
GNIS feature ID	1627252[2]

West Traverse Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,768 at the 2020 census.^[3]

• Harbor Point is an unincorporated community in a noncontiguous part of the township on a peninsula south of Harbor Springs at 45°25′31″N 84°59′13″W / 45.42528°N 84.98694°W / 45.42528; -84.98694. The historic Little Traverse Lighthouse is located at the tip of the Harbor Point peninsula. It was begun as a resort originally called Lansing Resort in 1878.^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 13.39 square miles (34.7 km²), of which 13.37 square miles (34.6 km²) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.052 km²) (0.15%) is water. The city of Harbor Springs is located south of the township.

• Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

• West Traverse Township Website