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, in a clockwise direction from the south, by the
U.S. states of
Indiana,
Illinois,
Wisconsin, 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."
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Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes |
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 22,300 square miles (
57,750 square km), making it the largest freshwater lake in the US, the largest lake entirely within one country, 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 mi (2,633 km) long. The lake's average depth is 279 ft (85 m), while its greatest depth is 925 ft (282 m). It contains a volume of 1,180 cubic mi (4,918 cubic km) of water. Its surface averages 577 ft (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 around 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 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:
Beaches
Lake Michigan beaches, especially those beaches in Michigan and Northern Indiana, are known for their beauty. 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.
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South-West view from the Muskegon, Michigan shoreline looking towards the Muskegon Channel,which leads to Muskegon Lake. |
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.
Chicago annually imports fresh sand to replenish the popular city beaches but much of the city waterfront is covered by seawalls, harbors or developments.
Steel mills are visible along the Indiana shoreline, and the
pollution caused by these mills is believed to contribute to the color of sunsets.
The Chicago
Skyline can be seen from the Indiana shore and parts of extreme southwest Michigan and southeastern Wisconsin, 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
Ludington, Michigan, to
Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The
Lake Express, established in 2004, is another ferry. It allows motorists to cross the lake between
Muskegon, Michigan, and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at a much higher speed than the Ludington ferry.
Islands
*
Beaver Island *
North Manitou Island*
South Manitou Island*
Washington Island*
Rock IslandParks
Several state parks are located on the lakeshore as well as the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, both part of the National Park System. Part of the shoreline is also in the
Hiawatha National Forest and the
Manistee National Forest. Part of the
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is located in Lake Michigan.
Lighthouses
*
Illinois lighthouses *
Indiana lighthouses*
Michigan lighthouses*
Wisconsin lighthousesGeologically 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."
*
Grand Traverse Bay*
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*
EPA's Great Lakes Atlas
