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  Lake Michigan
What's New | Overview | General Resources | Programs and Projects
Research | Tourism | Related Resources | Online Atlas

 
What's New
Neighbors make waves over turbines
Detroit Free Press (12/23)
Scandia has proposed a 1,000-megawatt wind farm between Pentwater and Ludington along the shore of Lake Michigan. The plan has caught state officials and residents off guard.

Watkins: Great Lakes crisis brings Republicans, Democrats together
Dearborn Press and Guide (12/22)
The protection of our Great Lakes is not a partisan issue, and Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives have rallied to their support. It is extremely positive to see our elected leaders not carping and instead working together to solve a major problem impacting our state.

U.S. Coast Guard begins breaking ice
The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News (12/14)
Colder temperatures and the resulting development of ice in the Great Lakes shipping channels prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to commence Operation Taconite on Sunday afternoon.

Cries to halt Chicago canal traffic because of carp are opposed
Detroit Free Press (12/13)
As Michigan's attorney general prepares to file lawsuits this week to force Illinois and federal agencies to do more to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, some members of Congress also are mounting an anti-carp assault.

Be careful what you fish for
The New York Times (12/12)
Alarms are sounding near the edge of the Great Lakes. Genetic evidence of Asian carp - a mammoth, voracious, non-native conqueror among fish, long established in the Mississippi River - has turned up just a few miles from Lake Michigan in the waterway that links the river system to the lake.

Will carp lock out industry?
The Plainfield Sun (12/8)
Michigan officials are asking for action that could include permanently closing the locks in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to ensure invasive Asian carp can never get into the Great Lakes. But closing the Canal would hurt the industries the waterway was built to serve.

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Overview
Lake Michigan, the second largest Great Lake by volume with just under 1,180 cubic miles of water, is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States. Approximately 118 miles wide and 307 miles long, Lake Michigan has more than 1,600 miles of shoreline. Averaging 279 feet in depth, the lake reaches 925 feet at its deepest point. The lake's northern tier is in the colder, less developed upper Great Lakes region, while its more temperate southern basin contains the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas. The drainage basin, approximately twice as large as the 22,300 square miles of surface water, includes portions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Lake Michigan is hydrologically inseparable from Lake Huron, joined by the wide Straits of Mackinac.

References: Great Lakes Atlas, Environment Canada and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1995

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General Resources
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Formerly the Lake Michigan Federation, the Alliance is a nonprofit, public interest organization focusing on protecting the Great Lakes through a variety of "Positive Change" projects.

An Advocate's Field Guide to Protecting Lake Michigan
Alliance for the Great Lakes
After two years of research by organizations around Lake Michigan, this guidebook identifies basinwide threats; it is organized into three chapters: habitat restoration, toxic elimination and land and water conservation.

Bathymetry Map
Ohio State University and NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
The Great Lakes Forecasting System provides physical data about the lake, including this bathymetry map.

Bathymetry of Lake Michigan
U.S. National Geophysical Data Center
As part of NOAA's Great Lakes Data Rescue Project, this ite features images of lake depth and lakefloor topography.

Fish of Lake Michigan
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Color illustrations or photographs, size, coloring and other information about many Lake Michigan fish species.

Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis
NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)
A map using NOAA satellite data to show recent water temperatures of the Great Lakes.

Historic Data - Lake Michigan
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District
The Army Corps provides current and historic data on the Great Lakes, including yearly water levels from 1918, monthly storm probability, outflows and precipitation.

Surface Water Temperature
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Check out the Sea Grant Coastwatch, which provides real-time surface water temperatures for Lake Michigan and its ports.

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Programs
Episodic Events - Great Lakes Experiment (EEGLE)
A jointly funded program, begun in August 1997, to study the impact of episodic plume events on sediment and constituent transport and subsequent ecological effects in Lake Michigan.

Green Bay Mass Balance Study
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Conducted in 1989-90 to pilot the technique of mass balance analysis in understanding the sources and effects of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes' food chain.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Focuses on invasive species, aquaculture, fisheries, the future of communities that border southern Lake Michigan, and other issues that affect the coast through K-12 education, research and outreach projects.

Indiana Lakes Management Society (ILMS)
ILMS was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in the State of Indiana in 1991 by a group of individuals with a common interest in protecting and saving Indiana lakes for future generations.

Lake Michigan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Provides links to Lake Michigan LaMPs, AOCs, Environmental Sensitivity Index, and other projects.

Lake Michigan Biological Station
Illinois Natural History Survey
Research at LMBS is designed to improve management of various Lake Michigan fisheries and to better understand the ecology of the lake.

Lake Michigan Coastal Coordination Program
Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
In May 1995, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission adopted a Resolution to formally recognize the importance of the Lake Michigan coastal region to the state and to rededicate the professional staff of the Commission and the DNR in service to the region.

Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Provides the most updated information on the Lake Michigan LaMP.

Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Mass balance studies are a scientific method for evaluating the sources, transport and fate of contaminants entering a water system, and the effects of those contaminants on water quality. See also Mass Balance Public Outreach, Lake Michigan Federation.

Lake Michigan Potential Damages Study
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Detroit District
An extensive and long-term assessment of potential shoreline damages over the next 50 years due to fluctuating lake levels along the Lake Michigan shoreline (started in 1996).

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Research
Fisheries Research in Lake Michigan
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Great Lakes Science Center
Including prey fish community dynamics, broadband sonar assessment of prey fish, and long term trends in abundance of Lake Michigan fish.

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Tourism
The Great Lakes Circle Tour
Ride along on the 6,500-mile Great Lakes Circle Tour: a scenic, international road system connecting the five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River! For new visitors to the region, this online travel guide offers informational maps, road routes and estimated mileages, and links to major cities, camping and recreation areas, and natural attractions.

Lighthouses of Lake Michigan
Seeing The Light
Join lighthouse buffs Terry and Sue Pepper on a voyage of discovery around the Great Lakes and through history. This site features extensive photography, research and observations of the lights.

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Related Resources
GLIN: Lake Michigan Facts and Figures
GLIN: Lake Michigan Current Conditions

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Last Updated: June 18, 2009
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