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Lake Michigan
*** Shopping-Tip: Lake Michigan
Image:LightningVolt Lake Michigan Sunset.jpg thumb|right|250px|Sunset on Lake Michigan
'''Lake Michigan''' is one of the five
Great Lakes of
North America.
It is bounded, in a clockwise direction from the south, by the
U.S. states of
Indiana,
Illinois,
Wisconsin, and
Michigan.
Name
The word "Michigan" was originally used to refer to the
lake itself, and is believed to come from the
Ojibwe language Ojibwa Indian word ''mishigami'', meaning "great water."
Geography
Image:Great Lakes Lake Michigan.png thumb|left|200px|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 (
1 E10 m² 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
Image:Chicago River at Lake Michigan.jpg thumb|200px|The [[Chicago River at Lake Michigan]]
Some 12 million people live along Lake Michigan's shores. Many small cities in
Northern Michigan are centered around a
tourism 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
industry industrialized. Cities on the shores of Lake Michigan with populations larger than 30,000 include:
{|
| valign="top" |
'''Illinois'''
*'''
Chicago, Illinois Chicago'''
*
Evanston, Illinois Evanston
*
Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park
*
North Chicago, Illinois North Chicago
*
Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan
| width="20px" |
| valign="top" |
'''Indiana'''
*
East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago
*
Gary, Indiana Gary
*
Hammond, Indiana Hammond
*
Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City
*
Portage, Indiana Portage
| width="20px" |
| valign="top" |
'''Michigan'''
*
Holland, Michigan Holland
*
Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon
| width="20px" |
| valign="top" |
'''Wisconsin'''
*
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay
*
Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha
*
Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc
*'''
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee'''
*
Racine, Wisconsin Racine
*
Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan
|}
Beaches
Image:Indiana dunes.jpg thumb|right|[[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. The sand is soft and
Off-white off-white, known as "singing sands" due to the squeaking noise made when one walks across it (caused by the 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
Fahrenheit °F/13 and 21
Degree Celsius °C) [http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/twomichigans.html], 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.
Image:LakeMichiganMuskegonShoreline.jpg left|thumb|300px|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 due to the prevailing winds from the west which also cause thick layers of ice to build up on the western 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 developements.
Steel mills are visible along the Indiana shoreline, but the
pollution caused by these mills is believed to contribute to the color of sunsets.
Image:Lake michigan 1925.jpg thumb|285px|Crowd of bathers on the Lake Michigan beach, [[Chicago, Illinois around 1925.]]
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 Peninsula of Michigan Lower Michigan, it is impossible to see across the lake, providing a view similar to that found on ocean coasts.
Parks
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.
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 (Lake Michigan) Beaver Island
*
North Manitou Island
*
South Manitou Island
*
Washington Island (Wisconsin) Washington Island
*
Rock Island (Wisconsin) Rock Island
Lighthouses
*
Lighthouses in the United States#Illinois Illinois lighthouses
*
Lighthouses in the United States#Indiana Indiana lighthouses
*
Lighthouses in the United States#Michigan Michigan lighthouses
*
Lighthouses in the United States#Wisconsin Wisconsin lighthouses
Geology
Geologically and hydrologically, Michigan and Huron are the same body of water (sometimes called
Lake Michigan-Huron), but are geographically distinct. The
Mackinac Bridge is generally considered the dividing line between them. Both lakes are part of the
Great Lakes Waterway. In earlier [http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1733d4.jpg maps] of the region, the name "Lake Illinois" has been found in place of "Michigan."
History
See also
*
Grand Traverse Bay
*
Door Peninsula
*
Bay of Green Bay
*
Leelanau Peninsula
*
Big Bay de Noc
*
Little Bay de Noc
*
Little Traverse Bay
{{greatlakes}}
External links
-
EPA's Great Lakes Atlas
Category:Great Lakes Michigan
Category:Lakes of Illinois Michigan
Category:Lakes of Indiana Michigan
Category:Lakes of Michigan Michigan
Category:Lakes of Wisconsin Michigan
zh-min-nan:Michigan Ô·
da:Lake Michigan
de:Michigansee
et:Michigani järv
es:Lago Míchigan
fr:Lac Michigan
gl:Lago Michigan
hr:Jezero Michigan
io:Lago Michigan
it:Lago Michigan
he:ימת מישיגן
la:Michiganus Lacus
nl:Michiganmeer
ja:ミシガン湖
pl:Jezioro Michigan
pt:Lago Michigan
ru:Мичиган (озеро)
simple:Lake Michigan
sk:Michiganské jazero
sr:Мичиген (језеро)
fi:Michiganjärvi
sv:Michigansjön
uk:Мічиґан (озеро)
zh:密歇根湖
*** Shopping-Tip: Lake Michigan
