Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes and, by volume, is the second largest lake of the pack. It is also the only lake that is located entirely within the United States, with the rest of the five lakes sharing their borders between the United States and Canada. To lake is bordered by Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. The word Michigan is thought to be derived from Mishigami, an Ojibwa word that means "great water". Michigan became the name of the lake and, as coastal civilization chronically pushed backwards, the resultant territory itself became known as Michigan.

The banks and coasts of the lake have supported indigenous populations and cultures that came long before European settlement. Among the earliest culture is the Hopewell Indian tribe. Around the 9th Century B.C., the Late Woodland Indians migrated into the area and gradually took over the region. This group descended into many subsequent tribes, like the Menominee, Fox, Winnebago, and Chippewa, to name a few. These were the tribes that were later encountered by European explorers.

Lake Michigan is quite large, as all of the Great Lakes are. It is regionally nicknamed the American "Third Coast" because of its extensive array of beaches, bays, and banks that touch the waters. 12 million people live around the edge of Lake Michigan in over 60 different cities, like Port Washington, Chicago, Whitefish Bay, Racine, Sheboygan, and Saint Joseph.

Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes are connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes Water Way. The Illinois River and the Mississippi co-connect the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, all the way at the south end of the United States. Between that, the Ohio River, and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, there is heavy traffic of tug boats and barges making shipping much more efficient.

Tourists can cross Lake Michigan in a variety of ways, if they have their own watercraft, or they can take a car ferry. The Lake Express carries people from Muskegon, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The S.S. Badger runs from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Lake Michigan has its share of islands and dry land formations that pervade the lake in different locations. A prominent feature is the group of islands, including Grape Island, High Island, Squaw Island, Whiskey Island, and several others, known as the Beaver Island Archipelago. There are even man-made formations, like Northerly Island (Chicago) which houses the Adler Planetarium and, each summer, hosts the Charter One Pavilion.

Lake Michigan is home to diverse aquatic species, like the yellow perch, bowfin, lake trout, and the largemouth bass. Overfishing has depleted much of the trout population and, thus, other predatory species were introduced to fight off trout's competitive species, the alewife. The salmon population exploded and supplies surrounding states, not to mention lakeside restaurants, with delicious eatery.