Straits of Mackinac

Overhead view of the Straits of Mackinac linking Lakes Michigan (left) and Huron (right)

The Straits of Mackinac (/ˈmækᵻnɔː/ MAK-in-aw) is a narrow waterway in the U.S. state of Michigan, between Michigan's Lower and Upper Peninsulas. The Straits of Mackinac connect two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The straits are five miles (8.0 km) wide and 20 fathoms (120 ft; 37 m) deep.^[1] Hydrologically, the two connected lakes can be considered one, which is called Lake Michigan–Huron. Historically, the region around the Straits was known by the native Odawa people as Michilimackinac.

History

See also: History of Northern Michigan

The Straits of Mackinac is a major shipping lane, providing passage for raw materials and finished goods and connecting, for instance, the iron mines of Minnesota to the steel mills of Gary, Indiana. Before the railroads reached Chicago from the east, most immigrants arrived in the Midwest and Great Plains by ships on the Great Lakes. The straits is five miles (8 km) wide at its narrowest point, where it is spanned by the Mackinac Bridge. Before the bridge was built, car ferries transported vehicles across the straits. Today passenger-only ferries carry people to Mackinac Island, which does not permit cars. Visitors can take their vehicles on a car ferry to Bois Blanc Island.

Islands in the Straits of Mackinac include the two populated islands, Bois Blanc and Mackinac, and two that are uninhabited: Round and St. Helena islands. At 11 miles (18 km) in length, Bois Blanc is the largest island in the straits.

Satellite photograph of icebreaker paths through the ice in the straits. The Mackinac Bridge is the vertical line in the center, connecting the landmass of the Upper Peninsula above to lower Michigan below. The icebreaker paths run right-to-left, connecting the open water of Lake Michigan with the open water of Lake Huron between Mackinac Island and Round Island.

The Straits of Mackinac, spanned by the Mackinac Bridge, seen from the southern shore

The straits are shallow and narrow enough to freeze over in the winter. Navigation is ensured for year-round shipping to the Lower Great Lakes by the use of icebreakers.

The straits were an important Native American and fur trade route. Located on the southern side of the straits is the town of Mackinaw City, the site of Fort Michilimackinac, a reconstructed French fort founded in 1715, and on the northern side is St. Ignace, site of a French Catholic mission to the Indians, founded in 1671. 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.

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 near the eastern edge of the Straits. This vessel went into service during the 2005/06 ice season.

Most of the Straits have been set aside by the 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.

Lighthouses in the Straits of Mackinac include:

The McGulpin Point Light, on McGulpin Point, three miles (4.8 km) west of Fort Michilimackinac.
The Old Mackinac Point Light, in Mackinaw City, which is open to the public.
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 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 west of St. Ignace.
The Bois Blanc Light, which is not open to the public, on the northern shore of Bois Blanc.

2008 panorama of the Straits from Mackinac Island

References

↑ "Michigan and Huron: One Lake or Two?" Infoplease.com.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Straits of Mackinac.

Coordinates: 45°48′50″N 84°45′00″W / 45.81389°N 84.75000°W / 45.81389; -84.75000

Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Central cities	Escanaba Hancock Houghton Iron Mountain Iron River Marquette Menominee Munising Sault Ste. Marie St. Ignace

Counties	Alger Baraga Chippewa Delta Dickinson Gogebic Houghton Iron Keweenaw Luce Mackinac Marquette Menominee Ontonagon Schoolcraft

Geography	Copper Country Gogebic Range Grand Island Keweenaw Peninsula Keweenaw Waterway Lake Superior Lake Huron Lake Michigan Menominee River Mount Arvon Pictured Rocks Porcupine Mountains St. Marys River Straits of Mackinac

Transportation	Chippewa County Airport Delta County Airport Ford Airport Gogebic–Iron County Airport Houghton County Airport Mackinac Bridge International Bridge International Rail Bridge Portage Lake Lift Bridge Sawyer International Airport Soo Locks

Economy	Cliffs Natural Resources Copper mining in Michigan Verso Corporation

Michigan Central Michigan Northern Michigan Southeast Michigan West Michigan

Northern Michigan

Central cities	Alpena Cadillac Charlevoix Gaylord Petoskey Traverse City

Counties	Alcona Alpena Antrim Arenac Benzie Charlevoix Cheboygan Clare Crawford Emmet Gladwin Grand Traverse Iosco Kalkaska Lake Leelanau Manistee Missaukee Montmorency Ogemaw Osceola Oscoda Otsego Presque Isle Roscommon Wexford

Geography	Au Sable River Cheboygan River Grand Traverse Bay Houghton Lake Inland Waterway Leelanau Peninsula Lake Charlevoix Lake Huron Lake Michigan Little Traverse Bay Manistee River Straits of Mackinac Thunder Bay Walloon Lake

Transportation	Charlevoix Municipal Airport Cherry Capital Airport Great Lakes Central Railroad Lake State Railway Mackinac Bridge Pellston Regional Airport SS Badger

Economy	East Jordan Iron Works Georgia-Pacific Holcim Lafarge Cement Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company Michigan wine USG Corporation Weyerhaeuser

Michigan Central Michigan Southeast Michigan Upper Peninsula West Michigan

Great Lakes of North America

Main lakes	Erie Huron Michigan Ontario Superior

Secondary lakes	Nipigon Nipissing St. Clair Simcoe Winnebago

Bays and Waterways	Detroit River Erie Canal French River Georgian Bay Great Lakes Waterway Green Bay Lake George Lake Kagawong Lake Manitou Lake Nicolet Manitou Passage Lake Mindemoya Munuscong Lake Niagara River Nipigon River North Channel Potagannissing Bay St. Clair River Saint Lawrence River Saint Lawrence Seaway St. Marys River Sault Ste. Marie Canal Soo Locks Straits of Mackinac Trent–Severn Waterway Welland Canal

Islands	Detroit River Michigan (state) (in Lake Huron, part of Isle Royale National Park) Ontario

Historic geology	Lake Agassiz Lake Chicago Lake Maumee Mackinac Falls Midcontinent Rift System Niagara Escarpment Wisconsin glaciation

Government	Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers Great Lakes Commission Great Lakes Fishery Commission International Joint Commission

Related topics	Basin Bays of the Great Lakes Great Lakes region Great Lake ships Lake-effect snow Lake Michigan–Huron Marine protected areas Megalopolis Native American tribes (US) Quebec City–Windsor Corridor Settlements Great Lakes museum and historic ships Lake freighter Tall ships Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes Treaties

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 237463202 LCCN: sh85079416 GND: 4692175-8

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