LAKE MICHIGAN

'Lake Michigan' is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. It is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The word "Michigan" was originally used to refer to the lake itself, and is believed to come from the Ojibwa Indian word ''mishigami'', meaning "great water."^[1]

Contents

Geography

Major cities

Beaches

Car ferries

Islands

Parks

Lighthouses

Geology

Ecology

See also

References

External links

Geography

Lake Michigan (43°30'N, 87°30'W) is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. It has a surface area of 22,400 square miles (58,016 km²), making it the largest freshwater lake in the U.S., the largest lake entirely within one country (by surface area; Lake Baikal, in Russia, is by water volume), and the 5th largest lake in the world. It is 307 miles (494 km) long by 118 miles (190 km) wide with a shoreline 1,640 miles (2,633 km) long. The lake's average depth is 279 feet (85 m), while its greatest depth is 923 feet (281 m). It contains a volume of 1,180 cubic miles (4,918 cubic km) of water. Its surface averages 577 feet (176 m) above sea level, the same as Lake Huron, to which it is connected through the Straits of Mackinac.

Major cities

Some 12 million people live along Lake Michigan's shores. Many small cities in Northern Michigan are centered on a tourist base that takes advantage of the beauty and recreational opportunities offered by Lake Michigan. These cities have large seasonal populations that arrive from Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and inland cities in Southern Michigan. The southern tip of the lake is heavily industrialized. Cities on the shores of Lake Michigan with populations larger than 30,000 include:

'Illinois' ★ 'Chicago' ★ Evanston ★ Highland Park ★ North Chicago ★ Waukegan

'Indiana' ★ East Chicago ★ Gary ★ Hammond ★ Michigan City ★ Portage

'Michigan' ★ Holland ★ Muskegon ★ St. Joseph ★ Benton Harbor

'Wisconsin' ★ Green Bay ★ Kenosha ★ Manitowoc ★ Milwaukee ★ Racine ★ Sheboygan

Beaches

Sand dune on Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Lake Michigan beaches, especially those beaches in Michigan and Northern Indiana, are known for their beauty and the region is often referred to as the "Third Coast" of the United States after those of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The sand is soft and off-white, known as "singing sands" because of the squeaking noise made when one walks across it (caused by high quartz content). There are often high sand dunes covered in green beach grass and sand cherries, and the water is usually clear and cold (between 55 and 70 °F/13 and 21 °C) [1], even in late summer. Lake Michigan beaches in Northern Michigan are the only place in the world where one can find Petoskey stones, the state stone, aside from a few inland lakes in that region.

The Milwaukee Lakefront.

The beaches of the western coast and the northernmost part of the east coast are rocky while the southern and eastern beaches are sandy and dune covered. This is partly because of the prevailing winds from the west which also cause thick layers of ice to build up on the eastern shore in winter.
Contrary to recent reports, Chicago annually imports fresh sand to replenish the popular city beaches (similar to Key West) but much of the city waterfront is parks, stone revetments, marinas or residential developments in the north or industrial sites in the south. (see Chicago beaches)
Some environmental problems still plague the lake. Steel mills are visible along the Indiana shoreline, and the pollution caused by these mills is believed to contribute to the color of sunsets. And, the Chicago Tribune reported that BP is a major polluter, dumping thousands of pounds of ammonia and raw sludge into Lake Michigan every day, from its Whiting, Indiana oil refinery. ^[2]

Crowd of bathers on the Lake Michigan beach, Chicago around 1925.

The Chicago skyline can be seen from the Indiana shore, but when standing on the beaches in Wisconsin or Lower Michigan, it is impossible to see across the lake, providing a view similar to that found on ocean coasts.

Car ferries

Motorists can cross Lake Michigan by the SS ''Badger'', a ferry that runs from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan. The ''Lake Express'' is another ferry, established in 2004, which carries motorists across the lake between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan, at a much higher speed than the SS Badger.

Islands

★ Beaver Island

★ North Manitou Island

★ South Manitou Island

★ Washington Island

★ Rock Island

Parks

The National Park Service maintains the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Part of the shoreline is within the Hiawatha National Forest and the Manistee National Forest. The Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is within the lake.
There are numerous state parks located on the shores of the lake or on islands within the lake.

Lighthouses

★ Illinois lighthouses

★ Indiana lighthouses

★ Michigan lighthouses

★ Wisconsin lighthouses

Geology

Geologically and hydrologically, Michigan and Huron are the same body of water (sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron), but are geographically distinct. Counted together, it is the largest fresh water body in the world by surface area. The Mackinac Bridge is generally considered the dividing line between them. Both lakes are part of the Great Lakes Waterway. In earlier maps of the region, the name "Lake Illinois" has been found in place of "Michigan."

Ecology

Lake Michigan is home to a variety of species of fish and other organisms. Lake Michigan was originally home to Lake Trout, Yellow Perch, Panfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, carp, bowfin,as well as some species of Catfish. In the past years over fishing has caused a decline in Lake trout which ultimately caused an increase in the Alewife population. As a result Coho and Chinook salmon were also introduced as a predator of alewives to decrease the Alewife population. Lake Michigan is now being stocked with several species of fish. However several invader species have been introduced such as Lampreys which threaten the vitality of fish populations.

See also

★ Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

★ Grand Traverse Bay

★ Peninsula State Park

★ Holland State Park

★ Grand Haven State Park

★ Hoffmaster State Park

★ Ludington State Park

★ Silver Lake State Park

★ Door Peninsula

★ Bay of Green Bay

★ Leelanau Peninsula

★ Big Bay de Noc

★ Little Bay de Noc

★ Little Traverse Bay

★ Illinois Beach State Park

★ Indiana Dunes State Park

★ Seiche

★ Great Lakes Areas of Concern

References

1. Superior Watershed Partnership Projects
2. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,2304440.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed/

External links

★ EPA's Great Lakes Atlas

★ Michigan DNR map of Lake Michigan