Location Michigan | State Michigan | |
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Major islands Beaver, Drummond, Grosse Ile, Harsens, Isle Royale, Mackinac | ||
The following is a list of islands of Michigan. Michigan has the second longest coastline of any state after Alaska. Being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior—Michigan also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds, as well as innumerable rivers, that may contain their own islands included in this list. The majority of the islands are within the Great Lakes. Other islands can also be found within other waterways of the Great Lake system, including Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River, Detroit River, and St. Marys River.
Contents
- Lake Erie
- Lake Huron
- Lake Michigan
- Lake Superior
- Lake St Clair
- Detroit River
- St Marys River
- Inland islands
- Grand Lake
- References
The largest of all the islands is Isle Royale in Lake Superior, which, in addition to its waters and other surrounding islands, is organized as Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale itself is 206 square miles (530 km2). The most populated island is Grosse Ile with approximately 10,000 residents, located in the Detroit River about 10 miles (16 kilometres) south of Detroit. The majority of Michigan's islands are uninhabited and very small. Some of these otherwise unusable islands have been used for the large number of Michigan's lighthouses to aid in shipping throughout the Great Lakes, while others have been set aside as nature reserves. Many islands in Michigan have the same name, even some that are in the same municipality and body of water, such as Gull, Long, or Round islands.
Lake Erie
Only Monroe County has territory in the westernmost portion of Lake Erie, which has a surface elevation of 571 feet (174 metres). The islands in the southern portion of the county are part of the North Maumee Bay Archeological District of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, in which Turtle Island is the only island in the state of Michigan that is shared by another state. This remote and tiny island is cut in half and shared with Ohio. While not distinct named islands in their own right, Sterling State Park and Pointe Mouillee are situated on several islands.
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes (after Lake Superior) with a surface area of 23,010 square miles (59,600 km2). Michigan is the only U.S. state to border Lake Huron, while the portion of the lake on the other side of the international border belongs to the Canadian province of Ontario. The vast majority of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron are centered around Drummond Island in the northernmost portion of the state's lake territory. Drummond Island is the largest of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron and is the second largest Michigan island after Lake Superior's Isle Royale. Another large group of islands is the Les Cheneaux Islands archipelago, which itself contains dozens of small islands. Many of the lake's islands are very small and uninhabited.
As the most popular tourist destination in the state, Mackinac Island is the most well known of Lake Huron's islands. Drummond Island is the most populous of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron, with a population of 992 at the 2000 census. While Mackinac Island had a population of only 553, there are thousands more seasonal workers and tourists during the summer months.
Lake Michigan
Michigan only has islands in Lake Michigan in the northern portion of the lake. There are no islands in the southern half of Lake Michigan. The largest and most populated of Michigan's islands in Lake Michigan is Beaver Island at 55.8 square miles (145 km2) and 551 residents. Some of the smaller islands surrounding Beaver Island are part of the larger Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, and the coastline is sparsely populated. At 206 square miles (530 km2), Isle Royale is the largest Michigan island and is the center of Isle Royale National Park, which itself contains over 450 islands. The following is a list of islands in Lake Superior that are not part of Isle Royale National Park. For those islands, see the list of islands in Isle Royale National Park.
Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie through the St. Clair River in the north and the Detroit River in the south. At 430 square miles (1,100 km2), it is one of the largest non-Great Lakes in the United States, but it only contains a small number of islands near the mouth of the St. Clair River, where all of the following islands are located. The largest of these islands is Harsens Island, and all the islands are in Clay Township in St. Clair County.
Detroit River
The Detroit River runs for 32 miles (51 kilometres) and connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. For its entire length, it carries the international border between the United States and Canada. Some islands belong to Ontario in Canada and are not included in the list below. All islands on the American side belong to Wayne County. Portions of the southern portion of the river serve as wildlife refuges as part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The largest and most populous island is Grosse Ile at 9.0 square miles (23 km2) and a population of around 10,000. Most of the islands are around and closely connected to Grosse Ile.
St. Marys River
The St. Marys River connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron at the easternmost point of the Upper Peninsula. It carries the international border throughout its length, and some of the islands belong to neighboring Ontario. The largest of Michigan's islands in the river are Sugar Island and Neebish Island. Wider portions of the river are designated as Lake George, Lake Nicolet, and the Munuscong Lake. The whole length of the Michigan portion of the river is part of Chippewa County.
Inland islands
Michigan has numerous inland lakes and rivers that also contain their own islands. The following also lists the body of water in which these islands are located. Five islands below (* and highlighted in green) are actually islands within an island; they are contained within inland lakes in Isle Royale.
Grand Lake
Grand Lake is a large 8.8 square miles (23 km2) lake in Presque Isle County. While it is not the largest inland lake in Michigan, it does contain the most inland islands. At its shortest distance, it is located less than one mile (1.6 kilometres) from Lake Huron, but the two are not connected. Grand Lake contains 14 islands, of which Grand Island is by far the largest.