The Straits of Mackinac (pronounced /ˈmækɨnɔː/, like MACK-in-aw, note the silent "c") is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. Lake Huron, bounded on the west by the US state of Michigan, and on the east by the province of Ontario, Canada, is one of the five Great The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U It is a shipping lane connecting, for instance, the steel mills of Gary, Indiana to the iron mines of Minnesota. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Before the railroads reached Chicago from the east, it served as part of the path for immigrants into the Midwest and Great Plains. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada It is five miles (8 km) wide at its narrowest point where it is spanned by the Mackinac Bridge. The Mackinac Bridge (ˈmækɨnɔː with a silent "c" at the end of the word is a Suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the Before the bridge was built, car ferries were used to cross the straits. See also Merchant ship Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro Ships are ferries designed to carry wheeled Cargo such as Today passenger-only ferries carry people to Mackinac Island which does not permit cars. Mackinac Island (ˈmækɨnɔː) is an island covering in land area belonging to the U Before icebreakers and year-round shipping on the Lower Great Lakes, the Straits would freeze over in winter. An icebreaker is a special purpose Ship or Boat designed to move and navigate through Ice -covered waters
Islands in the Straits of Mackinac include the two populated islands, Bois Blanc Island and Mackinac Island, and the two uninhabited islands, Round Island and St. Helena Island. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant Bois Blanc Island is coterminous with Bois Blanc Township, Mackinac County in the U Mackinac Island (ˈmækɨnɔː) is an island covering in land area belonging to the U Round Island is an uninhabited island in Mackinac County of the U The buildings of the St Helena Island Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St At 11 miles (18 kilometers) in length, Bois Blanc is by far the largest island in the Straits.
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Geology and history
The Straits were an important Native American and fur trade route. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal Fur. Located on the southern side of the Straits is the town of Mackinaw City, Michigan, the site of Fort Michilimackinac, a reconstructed French fort founded in 1715, and on the northern side is St. Ignace, Michigan, site of a French Catholic mission to the Indians, founded in 1671. Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Year 1715 ( MDCCXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Saint Ignace, usually written as St Ignace, is a city in the U This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The eastern end of the Straits was controlled by Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, a British colonial and early American military base and fur trade center, founded in 1781. Fort Mackinac was a military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century on Mackinac Island in the U Year 1781 ( MDCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Straits of Mackinac today
The Straits are patrolled by a detachment of the United States Coast Guard based at Graham Point, St. Ignace. A shipping channel through the winter ice is maintained by the Coast Guard's Great Lakes icebreaker, USCGC Mackinaw, based in Cheboygan, Michigan near the eastern edge of the Straits. An icebreaker is a special purpose Ship or Boat designed to move and navigate through Ice -covered waters Gallery Cheboygan is a city in the US state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5295 This new vessel went into service during the 2005-06 ice season.
Most of the Straits have been set aside by the U.S. state of Michigan as the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve, a riparian public space dedicated to those personnel who were lost aboard the boats and ships that sank in these dangerous shipping lanes. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve is a 148 mi² (383 km² state preserve in and around the Straits of Mackinac.
Lighthouses in the Straits of Mackinac include:
- The Old Mackinac Point Light, in Mackinaw City, Michigan, which is open to the public. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an Mackinaw Point marks the junction of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
- The Round Island Light on Round Island, which is not open to the public but which can be viewed from the Mackinac Island ferry channel. The Round Island Light is a Lighthouse located on the east shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake
- The St. Helena Island Lighthouse, which is not open to the public but is visible from a rest area on U.S. Highway 2 at Gros Cap, Michigan west of St. The buildings of the St Helena Island Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St US Route 2 is an east-west US Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. Ignace, Michigan.
- The Bois Blanc Island Light, which is not open to the public, on the northern shore of Bois Blanc.
External links
- Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck
- Lighthouses in the Mackinac Strait
- Lighthouses of the Straits of Mackinac
See also
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