72-577: The county-designated highways in Michigan comprise a 1,241.6-mile-long (1,998.2 km) system of primary county roads across the US state of Michigan . Unlike the State Trunkline Highway System , these highways have alphanumeric designations with letters that correspond to one of eight lettered zones in the state. The County-Designated Highway System (CDH System) was created in 1970 in response to
144-509: A Rustic Road system where local routes are purposefully maintained as dirt or gravel roads in order to not interfere with natural scenery and preserve them in their past state. County highway markers are usually a yellow-on-blue pentagon (the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices standard pattern) or a black-on-white square (largely older signs). Some states, like Virginia and North Carolina , have no county highways in most of their counties:
216-549: A county council was the responsible highway authority . Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( / ˈ m ɪ ʃ ɪ ɡ ən / MISH -ig-ən ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America . It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume (1,180 cu mi (4,900 km )) and depth (923 ft (281 m)) after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (22,405 sq mi (58,030 km )), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron . To
288-547: A letter. Many counties in Ohio use markers to designate county roads. Ohio's county roads vary widely in construction, signage, and naming from county to county. Seneca County uses the default blue pentagon marker and limited signage (generally only at intersections); Logan County uses a square white marker with a black border (similar to the St. Louis County design in Missouri) and signage
360-647: A line of waterways leading from the Saint Lawrence River to the Mississippi River and thence to the Gulf of Mexico . French coureurs des bois and voyageurs established small ports and trading communities, such as Green Bay, on the lake during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the 19th century, Lake Michigan was integral to the development of Chicago and the Midwestern United States west of
432-1100: A name determined by a standardized grid reference: "East 2000" would be a north–south road running 20 blocks/miles/km east of the designated zero point. Many other variations are also used. Many locales have somewhat arbitrarily assigned numbers for all county roads, but with no number-signage at all or only on standard street name blades. County roads and highways vary greatly in design standards, funding, and regularity of maintenance. Some county highways in urban areas are freeways or expressways . County roads that link communities or serve residential areas are often indistinguishable from state highways or residential streets. In rural areas, many county roads carry very little traffic and are maintained infrequently. They may be in poor condition (if paved) or not paved at all. In remote areas, county roads may be sand, gravel, or graded earth, only occasionally seeing foot, equestrian, and four wheel drive traffic. Some states, such as Wisconsin, use county highways in great numbers, linking major highways and cities or towns to each other. Wisconsin also maintains
504-522: A number (usually one or two digits), a single letter followed by a one- or two-digit number (i.e.: V-34, A-29), or in Rock Island County, with letters like Wisconsin but on a blue pentagon marker. These highways are usually marked at the beginning of the highway and occasionally throughout the route; they cannot be relied on as geographic directions the way more major highways are (state or interstate). In New Jersey , there are two sets of county routes:
576-466: A point between Milwaukee and Racine to a point between Grand Haven and Muskegon, divides the lake into northern and southern basins. Each basin has a clockwise flow of water, deriving from rivers and winds. Prevailing westerly winds tend to move the surface water toward the east, producing a moderating effect on the climate of western Michigan. There is a mean difference in summer water temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 5 degrees Celsius) between
648-491: A result of improvements to the Welland Canal in 1918, an invasion of sea lampreys and overharvesting , there has been a decline in native lake trout populations, ultimately causing an increase in the population of another invasive species, the alewife . As a result, salmonids, including various strains of brown trout , steelhead ( rainbow trout ), coho and chinook salmon , were introduced as predators in order to decrease
720-530: A row in 2020. Lake levels tend to be the lowest in winter. The normal low-water mark is 1.00 foot (30 cm) below datum ( 577.5 ft or 176.0 m ). In the winter of 1964, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their lowest level at 1.38 feet (42 cm) below datum. As with the high-water records, monthly low-water records were set each month from February 1964 through January 1965. During this twelve-month period, water levels ranged from 1.38 to 0.71 feet (42–22 cm) below Chart Datum. The all-time low-water mark
792-430: Is 46 fathoms 3 feet (279 ft; 85 m), while its greatest depth is 153 fathoms 5 feet (923 ft; 281 m). It contains a volume of 1,183 cubic miles (4,932 km ) of water. Green Bay in the northwest is its largest bay. Grand Traverse Bay in its northeast is another large bay. Lake Michigan's deepest region, which lies in its northern half, is called Chippewa Basin (named after prehistoric Lake Chippewa ) and
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#1732855826623864-623: Is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can be determined by each county alone, by mutual agreement among counties, or by a statewide pattern. Any county-maintained road, whether or not it is given a signed number, can be called a county road. Depending on the state or province and county, these roads can be named after geographic features, communities, or people. Or they may be assigned
936-727: Is controlled by the locks operated by the bi-national Lake Superior Board of Control . Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. Lake Michigan has a surface area of 22,404 sq mi (58,030 km ); (13,237 square miles (34,280 km ) lying in Michigan, 7,358 square miles (19,060 km ) in Wisconsin, 234 square miles (610 km ) in Indiana, & 1,576 square miles (4,080 km ) in Illinois) making it
1008-556: Is former Highway 620, which had a change in supervision. This is to be contrasted with survey township roads which exist in Alberta after the 1981 Alberta rural addressing system was introduced. Range roads will run north to south, while (survey) township roads run east to west. Highway 620 in Ontario, was downloaded to the Peterborough and Hastings county governments, and in one section,
1080-515: Is nearly comparable to state route signage, with advance signage of intersections with county roads and termini; and Scioto County uses a marker with a county outline. In Canada , numbered county roads are only found in Ontario , where they are similar to American county highways. Ontario county or regional roads are marked with trapezoid-shaped signs, usually (but not necessarily) with a white, black, green, or blue background, and normally identifying
1152-547: Is separated from South Chippewa Basin by a relatively shallower area called the Mid Lake Plateau. In the mid 20th century, construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway opened the Great Lakes to ocean-going vessels. But the wider ocean-going container ships that were developed later do not fit through the locks on these routes, which limits shipping on the lakes. Lake freighters are used on
1224-474: Is supported by tourism , with large seasonal populations attracted by Lake Michigan. Many seasonal residents have summer homes along the waterfront and return to other homes for the winter. The southern tip of the lake near Gary, Indiana, is heavily industrialized. Cities on the shores of Lake Michigan include: Illinois Indiana Michigan Wisconsin The National Park Service maintains
1296-454: Is the world's largest lake , by area, located fully in one country, and is shared, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin , Illinois , Indiana , and Michigan . Ports along its shores include Chicago , Illinois, Gary , Indiana, Milwaukee and Green Bay , Wisconsin, and Muskegon , Michigan. To the north, the lake is flanked by long bays , including Green Bay in the northwest, and Grand Traverse and Little Traverse bays in
1368-559: The 500-series (500–599), part of a statewide system which usually run through multiple counties, but are county-maintained; and the non-500 routes which are usually contained within a single county and are repeated in different counties. The latter generally use numbers in the 600-series; some counties have routes in the 700s and 800s. Two counties, Bergen and Monmouth, along with some routes in Ocean County, have routes outside this range with one- or two-digit numbers along with some numbers in
1440-584: The Chicago Lakefront Trail . Where there are no beaches or marinas, stone or concrete revetments protect the shoreline from erosion. The Chicago lakefront is accessible for about 24 miles (39 km) between the city's southern and northern limits along the lake. Twelve million people live along Lake Michigan's shores, mainly in the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. The economy of many communities in northern Michigan and Door County, Wisconsin ,
1512-528: The Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers , intergovernmental organization led by the governing chief executives of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec , and by the governors of the U.S. states of Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , Minnesota , New York , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin . The Conference came into force, in December 2008, with the enactment of laws in all of
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#17328558266231584-533: The Fox River , nearly to its headwaters , in their search for the Mississippi River . By the late 18th century, the eastern portions of the straits were controlled by Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island , a British colonial and early American military base and fur trade center, founded in 1781. With the advent of European exploration into the area in the late 17th century, Lake Michigan became used as part of
1656-871: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Indiana Dunes National Park . Parts of the shoreline are within the Hiawatha National Forest and the Manistee National Forest . The Manistee National Forest section of the shoreline includes the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness . The Lake Michigan division of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is also within the lake, as are the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge and
1728-516: The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary . There are numerous state and local parks located on the shores of the lake or on islands within the lake: Lake Michigan is home to a small variety of fish species and other organisms. It was originally home to lake whitefish , lake trout , yellow perch , panfish , largemouth bass , smallmouth bass and bowfin , as well as some species of catfish . As
1800-516: The 100s. New Jersey's county routes are usually signed just as well as state routes (with mile- and half-mileposts), and will appear on freeway exit signage. In Iowa , secondary roads are defined simply by the Iowa Code as "those roads under county jurisdiction." The 99 counties in Iowa divide the secondary road system into farm-to-market roads and area service roads. Farm-to-market roads are maintained by
1872-536: The 1970 state highway map. The system was created and expanded in scope c. October 5, 1970 , after it was approved by the County Road Association of Michigan and the State Highway Commission. The system uses eight lettered zones which are divided by major state highways. Each county road in the system is designated with the zone letter followed by a number. Six of the zones, A–F, are in
1944-534: The 1980s although it is not a part of the system. Of the highways designated, two were removed from the system and later partially restored. When the Interstate 196 (I-196) freeway was built in the Saugatuck area in the 1960s, US Highway 31 (US 31) was shifted to the new freeway. The former route along Blue Star Highway was returned to county jurisdiction, which removed the various state highway markings from
2016-693: The County State Aid Highway Fund. Differences in signage between CSAH routes and other county roads depends on the county. Some counties, such as Stearns County, delineate between the two by using the standard blue pentagon marker for CSAH routes and a normal white square marker for other county roads. Most county roads in Minnesota are designated with numbers, although a few non-CSAHs in Dodge County utilize letters. A few roads that cross county borders are also signed with an inter-county designation and
2088-729: The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which harvest 50 percent of the Great Lakes commercial catch in Michigan waters, and 45 state-licensed commercial fishing enterprises. The prime commercial species is the lake whitefish. The annual harvest declined from an average of 11 million pounds (5,000,000 kg) from 1981 through to 1999 to more recent annual harvests of 8 to 9.5 million pounds (3,600,000 to 4,300,000 kg). The price for lake whitefish dropped from $ 1.04/lb. to as low as $ 0.40/lb during periods of high production. Sports fishing includes salmon, whitefish, smelt , lake trout and walleye as major catches. In
2160-725: The Great Lakes by way of the Erie Canal and Hudson River in New York. The Erie Canal connects to the Great Lakes at the east end of Lake Erie (at Buffalo, New York ) and at the south side of Lake Ontario (at Oswego, New York ). The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels typically occurring in summer. The normal high-water mark is 2.00 feet (0.61 m) above datum ( 577.5 ft (176.0 m) ). In October 1986, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their highest level at 5.92 feet (1.80 m) above datum. The monthly average high-water records were broken for several months in
2232-551: The Lower Peninsula and with a B for those in the Upper Peninsula, the system was divided into eight zones. The first of these revised assignments were shown on the 1971 state highway map; A-2 retained its number but B-1 was renumbered to H-40 in the Upper Peninsula. Earl Rogers, the engineer-director of the County Road Association of Michigan stated at the time that the county road commissions would gradually phase in signage over
List of county-designated highways in Michigan - Misplaced Pages Continue
2304-411: The Lower Peninsula while the Upper Peninsula is divided into the remaining two, G and H. There have been a total of 66 different highways designated in seven of the zones; as of 2021 no E highways have been named. Participation by the county road commissions is optional, and not all counties use the system. One additional highway, Forest Highway 16 (marked as "H-16"), has appeared on state maps since
2376-505: The Michigan state stone, can be found. The beaches of the western coast and the northernmost part of the east coast are often rocky, with some sandy beaches. The southern and eastern beaches are typically sandy and dune-covered. This is partly because of the prevailing winds from the west (which also cause thick layers of ice to build on the eastern shore in winter). The Chicago city waterfront has been developed for parks, beaches , harbors and marinas, and residential developments connected by
2448-474: The Port District, Calumet Harbor , is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . Two passenger and vehicle ferries operate ferry services across Lake Michigan, both connecting Wisconsin on the western shore with Michigan on the east. From May to October, the historic steamship, SS Badger , operates daily between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan, connecting U.S. Highway 10 between
2520-475: The United States, county highways are denoted or signed in various ways, differing by state. In Wisconsin , county highways are marked with letters—with one- to three-letter combinations (i.e.: C, CC, or CCC). Wisconsin's county highways are frequently and clearly marked at most intersections. Because county road names are not exclusive, a state may have many county roads with similar or identical names. In states like Illinois , county highways are marked either with
2592-488: The Upper Peninsula. This contrasts to the state highway system that makes no attempt to group designations by geography in the state. The boundaries for each zone are determined by major state trunkline highways on each peninsula. Each highway is given a designation composed of the zone letter followed by a two-digit number. Within the zone, numbers are assigned on a grid system: north–south highways use odd numbers and east–west highways have even numbers. Lower numbers are used to
2664-414: The Wisconsin and Michigan shores. Hydrologically Michigan and Huron are the same body of water (sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron ) but are normally considered distinct. Counted together, it is the largest body of fresh water in the world by surface area. The Mackinac Bridge is generally considered the dividing line between them. The main inflow to Lake Michigan from Lake Superior, through Lake Huron,
2736-630: The area. She even contacted state legislators and members of the State Highway Commission . No changes were made, even though businesses along Blue Star Highway were suffering from a lack of traffic. Mrs. Temple contacted officials at the Allegan County Road Commission and the County Road Association of Michigan in August 1968. State Senator Gary Byker of Hudsonville was also contacted, and he convened meetings with representatives on
2808-422: The bottom via submersible as part of a research expedition. The warming of Lake Michigan was the subject of a 2018 report by Purdue University . In each decade since 1980, steady increases in obscure surface temperature have occurred. This is likely to lead to decreasing native habitat and to adversely affect native species survival, including game fish. The Milwaukee Reef , running under Lake Michigan from
2880-453: The business concerns of a woman from Saugatuck . Her one-woman crusade in the 1960s started after the highway in front of her motel was turned over to local control as a county road and removed from state highway maps when the nearby freeway opened. After nearly a decade of efforts, the first two test highways were designated, one each in the Lower and Upper peninsulas of the state and included on
2952-531: The coming years. Participation in the system was made optional, but all counties had agreed to the system. As of 2015, no counties in the E zone have assigned roads to the system, and many counties in the other zones have yet to participate. The system comprises 1,241.614 miles (1,998.184 km) of roadways. As implemented in October 1970, the CDH System is divided into eight zones: six in the Lower Peninsula and two in
List of county-designated highways in Michigan - Misplaced Pages Continue
3024-941: The county and, paid for from a special fund: the Farm-to-Market Road Fund consists of federal secondary-road aid and 8% of Iowa's road use taxes. The farm-to-market road system is limited to 35,000 miles (56,000 km). Unlike most states, Iowa's signed secondary roads are not numbered on a county-by-county basis. With exception to County Road 105 , secondary roads use a uniform numbering grid using one letter and two or three numbers, e.g., E41. County roads running primarily east and west are assigned letters (from north to south) A through J. County roads running primarily north and south are assigned letters (from west to east) K through Z. The letters I, O, Q, and U are not used. In Minnesota , some county roads are known as county state aid highways . These roads are constructed and maintained by counties, but they are eligible for funding from
3096-569: The county or region responsible for the road's maintenance, sometimes with the jurisdiction's coat of arms or corporate logo . The county road network has been present for many years, but has only been signed with the flowerpot logos since the 1970s and early 1980s (depending on the area). Previously, the roads simply had road names, such as "Essex Road 42" or "Kent County Road 14", and so on, but had no markers to designate them. Many Ontario county roads are built to provincial highway standards, as thousands of kilometres of highways were downloaded from
3168-628: The earliest European maps of the region, the name of Lake Illinois has been found (named for the Illinois Confederation of tribes), in addition to that of "Michigan". During the 1640s and 1650s, the Beaver Wars (over the fur trade with the European colonies), initiated by the Iroquois , forced a massive demographic-shift, as their western neighbors fled the violence. The Iroquois sought refuge to
3240-490: The early 17th century, when Western European explorers made their first forays into the region, they encountered descendants of the Late Woodland Native Americans, mainly the historic Chippewa , Menominee , Sauk , Fox , Winnebago , Miami , Ottawa and Potawatomi peoples. The French explorer Jean Nicolet is believed to have been the first European to reach Lake Michigan, possibly in 1634 or 1638. In
3312-414: The east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide and deep Straits of Mackinac , giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; geologically, the two bodies are a single lake that is, by area, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake located fully in the United States; the other four are shared between the U.S. and Canada. It
3384-555: The highway was downloaded further to the township of Wollaston , and is now signed Wollaston Township 620, with a municipal sign similar to an Ontario tertiary highway . A number of townships in Wellington County sign their township road system in a similar manner. In England and Wales , county road , as alluded to in section 29 et seq. of the Local Government Act 1929, was the term used to refer to any road for which
3456-618: The jurisdiction which maintains them, they may instead be designated as a Regional Road , Municipal Road , Regional Highway , County Highway , District Road , Township Road , or City Road . In the unincorporated districts of Northern Ontario , as there is no county level of government the province maintains a secondary highway system to serve the same function. In addition to county roads, many civil townships also have concession roads and (civil) township roads, such as Colchester South Road 3, and Concession 8. These usually do not have markers (only names on signs and maps). One exception
3528-505: The lake. For example, 90% of the grain shipped from Chicago traveled by ships east over Lake Michigan during the antebellum years. The volume rarely fell below 50% after the Civil War even with the major expansion of railroad shipping . The first person to reach the deep bottom of Lake Michigan was J. Val Klump , a scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1985. Klump reached
3600-546: The lakes that are too large to pass the locks and enter the ocean. Despite their vast size, large sections of the Great Lakes freeze in winter, interrupting most shipping. Some icebreakers ply the lakes. Lake Michigan is connected by the Illinois Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois River and the Mississippi River. Commercial tug-and-barge traffic on these waterways is heavy. Pleasure boats can enter or exit
3672-468: The largest lake entirely within one country by surface area ( Lake Baikal in Russia is larger by water volume) and the fifth-largest lake in the world. It is the larger half of Lake Michigan–Huron , which is the largest body of fresh water in the world by surface area. It is 307 miles (494 km) long by 118 miles (190 km) wide with a shoreline 1,640 miles (2,640 km) long. The lake's average depth
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#17328558266233744-453: The late 1960s, successful stocking programs for Pacific salmon led to the development of Lake Michigan's charter fishing industry. Like all of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan is today used as a major mode of transport for bulk goods. In 2002, 162 million net tons of dry bulk cargo were moved via the Lakes. This was, in order of volume: iron ore, grain and potash . The iron ore and much of
3816-446: The lower water levels in 2013 were a combination of the "lack of a large snowpack" in the winter of 2011/2012 coupled with very hot and dry conditions in the summer of 2012. Since then water levels rebounded, rising more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) to historical record high levels. Lake Michigan, like the other Great Lakes, supplies drinking water to millions of people in bordering areas. The Great Lakes are collectively administered by
3888-564: The mid-19th century. Several ferries currently operate on the Great Lakes to carry passengers to various islands, including Beaver Island and Bois Blanc Island (Michigan) . Currently, two car ferry services traverse Lake Michigan from around April to November: the SS Badger, a steamer from Ludington, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and the Lake Express , a high speed catamaran from Milwaukee to Muskegon, Michigan. The Great Lakes Circle Tour ,
3960-666: The northeast. The word michigan is believed to come from the Ojibwe ᒥᓯᑲᒥ ( michi-gami or mishigami ), meaning "great water". Some of the most well-studied early human inhabitants of the Lake Michigan region were the Hopewell Native Americans . Their culture declined after 800 AD, when, for the following few hundred years, the region was the home of peoples known as the Late Woodland Native Americans . In
4032-415: The province to counties and regional municipalities in 1997 and 1998, and most of the downloaded highways were rolled into the county road systems. In some situations, these in turn were downloaded from the region/county to the local municipalities. Not all jurisdictions in Ontario which maintain a numbered road system use the name "County Road" to designate them, however — depending on the official name of
4104-526: The roadway and displaced Blue Star Highway from the state highway maps of the time. At the time, Mr. and Mrs. Howard "Gene" Temple owned a motel along the roadway in Saugatuck, and they were dismayed over the number of canceled reservations they were receiving because guests could not find their business. Mrs. Temple approached the Village of Saugatuck and the local chamber of commerce to get better highway markings for
4176-524: The shoreline, the dunes rise several hundred feet above the lake surface. Large dune formations can be seen in many state parks, national forests and national parks along the Indiana and Michigan shoreline. Some of the most expansive and unique dune formations can be found at Indiana Dunes National Park , Saugatuck Dunes State Park , Warren Dunes State Park , Hoffmaster State Park , Silver Lake State Park , Ludington State Park , and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore . Small dune formations can be found on
4248-434: The south or west sides of the zones. The Lower Peninsula is divided into six zones, A-F: The Upper Peninsula is divided into the G and H zones. The dividing line between the two zones is US 41 , between Lakes Michigan and Superior with zone G to the west of US 41 and zone H to the east of it. County roads A county highway (also county road or county route ; usually abbreviated CH or CR )
4320-449: The state government maintains all roads in unincorporated areas. In West Virginia , the state maintains secondary roads though they may be designated as county routes. Other states, like Connecticut , have no county routes because there is no government at the county level. Alaska 's county-equivalent boroughs maintain roads in unincorporated areas but none are numbered. Louisiana 's county equivalent of parishes have parish routes. In
4392-552: The state highway map contained the caption "Experimental Program for Identifying Key County Roads". The markers used were the blue and yellow pentagon shields developed by the National Association of County Engineers. Mrs. Temple earned an honor as the first woman in "Michigan to obtain a highway designation from the State Highway Commission". The program was implemented by October 5, 1970, and expanded in scope. Instead of using designations beginning with an A for county roads in
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#17328558266234464-512: The state, county and local levels in search of a solution. These meetings resulted in a test program for the 1970 state highway map that marked Blue Star Highway as A-2; the Allegan County Road Commission spent $ 2,000 (equivalent to $ 12,100 in 2023) to erect about 50 markers along the road in their county. A second road in the Upper Peninsula was designated B-1 between Engadine and Rudyard in Mackinac and Chippewa counties. Both county roads on
4536-412: The states and the two provinces, and the enactment of a United States federal law. Environmental problems can still plague the lake. Steel mills and refineries operate near the Indiana shoreline. The Chicago Tribune reported that BP is a major polluter, dumping thousands of pounds of raw sludge into the lake every day from its Whiting, Indiana , oil refinery. In March 2014 BP's Whiting refinery
4608-606: The stone and coal are used in the steel industry. There is also some shipping of liquid and containerized cargo, but most container vessels cannot pass the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway because the ships are too wide. The total amount of shipping on the lakes has been on a downward trend for several years. The Port of Chicago , operated by the Illinois International Port District , has grain (14 million bushels) and bulk liquid (800,000 barrels) storage facilities along Lake Calumet . The central element of
4680-502: The two cities. The Lake Express , established in 2004, carries passengers and vehicles across the lake between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Muskegon, Michigan. Tourism and recreation are major industries on all of the Great Lakes. A few small cruise ships operate on Lake Michigan, including a couple of sailing ships. Many other water sports are practiced on the lakes, such as yachting, sea kayaking, diving, kitesurfing and lake surfing. Great Lakes passenger steamers have been operating since
4752-482: The vitality of native fish populations. Fisheries in inland waters of the United States are small compared to marine fisheries. The largest fisheries are the landings from the Great Lakes, worth about $ 14 million in 2001. Michigan's commercial fishery today consists mainly of 150 tribe-licensed commercial fishing operations through the Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority and tribes belonging to
4824-418: The water is usually clear and cool, between 55 and 80 °F (13 and 27 °C), even in the late summer months. However, because prevailing westerly winds tend to move the surface water toward the east, there is a flow of warmer water to the Michigan shore in the summer. The sand dunes located on the east shore of Lake Michigan are the largest freshwater dune system in the world. In multiple locations along
4896-603: The west and north of Lake Michigan. The Straits of Mackinac were an important Native American travel corridor and fur-trade route. Located on the southern side of the straits sits the town of Mackinaw City, Michigan , the site of Fort Michilimackinac (a reconstructed French fort founded in 1715); on the northern side is St. Ignace, Michigan , site of a French Catholic mission to the Indians (founded in 1671). In 1673, Jacques Marquette , Louis Jolliet , and their crew of five Métis voyageurs followed Lake Michigan to Green Bay and up
4968-693: The western shore of Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park , and moderate-sized dune formations can be found in Kohler-Andrae State Park and Point Beach State Forest in Wisconsin. A large dune formation can be found in Whitefish Dunes State Park in Wisconsin in the Door Peninsula . Lake Michigan beaches in Northern Michigan are the only place in the world, aside from a few inland lakes in that region, where Petoskey stones ,
5040-625: The wildlife population. This program was so successful that the introduced population of trout and salmon exploded, resulting in the creation of a large sport fishery for these introduced species. Lake Michigan is now stocked annually with steelhead, brown trout, and coho and chinook salmon, which have also begun natural reproduction in some Lake Michigan tributaries. However, several introduced invasive species, such as lampreys, round goby , zebra mussels and quagga mussels , continue to cause major changes in water clarity and fertility, resulting in knock-on changes to Lake Michigan's ecosystem, threatening
5112-595: Was eclipsed in January 2013. In January 2013, Lake Michigan's monthly mean water levels dipped to an all-time low of 576.2 ft (175.6 m), reaching their lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918. The lakes were 29 in (0.74 m) below their long-term average and had declined 17 inches since January 2012. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ' district office in Detroit , explained that biggest factors leading to
5184-619: Was responsible for spilling more than 1,600 US gallons (6,100 L) of oil into the lake. Lake Michigan has many beaches. 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 often soft and off-white, known as " singing sands " because of the squeaking noise (caused by high quartz content) it emits when walked upon. Some beaches have sand dunes covered in green beach grass and sand cherries , and
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