El lake michigan it is one of the five great lakes of North America. It is surrounded by a number of cities in the United States, one of which has the same name as this enchanting lake, and more than 12 million people gather around it.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you everything you need to know about Lake Michigan, its characteristics and importance.
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Lake Michigan is part of the Great Lakes at the crossroads of the United States and Canada. But it is completely within the territory of the United States. Archaeological studies have shown that This lake was formed about 13.000 years ago, after the last ice age.
As the ice melted, a series of huge basins filled with water were left in place. These basins, along with other liquid matter, originated in this lake, as did the other four in the group.
Lake Michigan is the second largest lake in the Great Lakes group; I found myself merging with Lake Huron in the Straits of Mackinac, where its waters combine to form a body of water commonly known as Lake Huron, Michigan. It is worth mentioning that the strait was an important fur trade route in ancient times.
The depth of this lake was first observed during an expedition in 1985, which was led by a scientist from the University of Wisconsin named J. Val Klump; managed to use a submersible to conduct an investigation to determine its 281 meters.
Lake Michigan Features
The characteristics of Lake Michigan are what distinguish it from other lakes in the world, through these characteristics you can understand many basic aspects of the lake, among the Great Lakes it ranks second in scale in America.
In this sense, it can be said that Lake Michigan has the following characteristic elements:
- It is a lake located entirely in the United States and It belongs to the Great Lakes region.
- It is surrounded by Americans Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
- It covers an area of 57.750 square kilometers, with an altitude of 176 meters and a water depth of 281 meters.
- It is 494 kilometers long and 190 kilometers wide.
- It has a series of inland islands called: Beaver, North Manitou, South Manitou, Washington, and Rock.
- It receives water from several rivers and joins the Saint Lawrence River in its basin.
- Several cities are concentrated on its coast, but the most prominent are Chicago, Milwaukee and Muskegon.
- Sport and commercial fishing is carried out in the lake, trout and other specimens are caught, and salmon is introduced.
- It was discovered in 1634 by the French explorer Jean Nicolet.
- In this lake appeared sand dunes covered with green grass and beach cherries, even in late summer the water here is cool and transparent, and the temperature is pleasant.
- There are Petoskey stones in Lake Michigan. These are beautiful souvenirs from the lake. They are considered the official stones of the lake. They are very decorative. They have the appearance of fossils and are exquisitely carved. They are unique in the area and are over 3. One hundred and fifty years old.
Lake Michigan weather
This is a beautiful lake and it is recommended to visit it especially between June and September, since the weather is hot and partly cloudy on these dates, although winter is very cold. The temperature in this area generally varies between -7 ° C and 27 ° C, and these values rarely change significantly, if they do, they will not reach -14 ° C or exceed 30 ° C. But the current reality is different, since temperatures as low as -45 ° C have been verified, which causes Let the waters of Lake Michigan freeze.
Its waters face the so-called lake effect: in winter, the wind causes evaporation to produce snow, but in other seasons, when they absorb heat and cool the air in summer and autumn, they also regulate the temperature. This allows the appearance of fruit belts, which is a time when a large quantity of fruits can be harvested towards the southern regions.
Flora, fauna and geology
Like most lakes, the geological characteristic of Lake Michigan is that there is a depression in the ground, where water is collected from several rivers; In addition to a number of minerals such as iron, these minerals were later transported to the Appalachian Mountains. From coal-producing areas.
The geological structure of the soils in the area makes them rich in food production because they are very fertile and have large forests. Lake Michigan is characterized by the presence of swamps invaded by water; there are tall grasses, savannas, and tall sand dunes, all of which make for excellent habitats for wildlife.
In this sense, its fauna is represented by fish such as trout, salmon, snook and pike perch, all ideal for sport fishing activities. There are also crawfish, sponges, sea lamprey, eagles and many other species of birds such as swans, geese, crows, ducks, vultures, hawks and more, as the lake has great wealth of wildlife.
Lake Michigan legends and curiosities
According to the travel agency Travel & Leisure, Lake Michigan is surrounded by a history similar to Loch Ness in Scotland, where it is said that there is a monster with a series of prehistoric characteristics that has been found responsible for providing tourist services for the region since 1818.
Many people believe that this large snake-like monster is actually, as described, not real, because no one has approached it, or at least no one has verifiably photographed it, so this is considered to be part from the legend that the residents of the area exaggerated to attract tourism.
Do you think there are monsters in Lake Michigan or not, this is an interesting opportunity to meet him and take a vacation, because you can swim in its waters, enjoy a relaxing day in the forest or just learn about it. For lovers of snow and winter, this area freezes at this time of year, so you can practice winter sports such as skiing.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about Lake Michigan and its characteristics.