RAIL MEAT

  
Lake Michigan Facts

From the wave-washed beaches of the northern shore to the bustling urban-industrial communities at the southern rim, Lake Michigan represents an ecologically, culturally, and economically diverse system unparalleled in the Midwest.

Lake Michigan, by volume, is the second largest Great Lake and the only one located totally within the United States. The northern part is in the colder less developed upper Great Lakes region. It is sparsely populated, except for the Fox River Valley, and is primarily covered with mixed wood forest. The more temperate southern basin of Lake Michigan is the most urbanized area in the Great Lakes system; it contains the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas. Southern-soils are typically fertile and amenable to agriculture.

What is the Lake Michigan Basin?

The Lake Michigan basin is the area of land where rivers and streams all drain into Lake Michigan. The Lake's drainage basin covers more than 45,000 Square rules and drains parts of four states Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.
Lake Michigan discharges into Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac at a rate that allows for a complete change of water about every 100 years. The Lake forms a link in a waterway system that reaches east to the Atlantic Ocean and south through the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Among the large rivers that enter the Lake are the Fox and the Menominee in northeast Wisconsin, the St. Joseph, the Kalamazoo, and the Grand in southwest Michigan.
Size Statistics
Length:307 miles
Width:118 miles
Depth
  • 925 feet maximum depth
  • 279 feet average depth
Shoreline:1,660 miles largely of sand & pebble beaches

Portions of the above text were adapted from EPA's Lake Michigan website: www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakemich/intro.html


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Chicago Harbor Light

It was constructed in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition and moved to its present site in 1919. The United States Lighthouse Board prominently displayed "its 'state of the art' wares and engineering achievements." Prominently featured was "the engineering marvel" of Spectacle Reef Light and a 111-foot-tall (34 m) skeletal cast iron lighthouse tower.
Also displayed were a number of Fresnel lenses, including a stunning Third Order Fresnel lens which previously was awarded first prize at a Paris glass exhibition. The lens featured alternating red and white panels, and had been ordered for installation in the new lighthouse at Point Loma Light (new) in California. The coincidental conclusion of construction of the new Chicago Harbor light and the close of the Exhibition prompted the Lighthouse Board keep the lens in Chicago, and thus the lens was installed in the lantern room of the new tower.
Surrounded by rip rap, the structure has several levels: a concrete base and two red roofed buildings with a tapered white cylinder between them which is topped by a parapet and the light itself.
In 1917 the breakwater was renovated. At the time, the lighthouse was moved to its present site, and its attached fog signal room and boathouse were built.
The design is "unique . . . similar to that of the offshore sparkplug towers, but this tower is taller." Except for the additions made at the time of the move, it "bears some resemblance" to the Rock of Ages Light near Isle Royale on Lake Superior, which is its contemporary.
The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1984, and later was designated a Chicago Landmark on April 9, 2003.
The original Third Order Fresnel lens (pronounced /freɪˈnɛl/) was removed, and is now on display at Cabrillo National Monument in California. It had been originally intended for and was destined for the Point Loma (California) light, but was diverted (for almost a century) and kept in Chicago following its display at the exposition.

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In a Fog? Need some help?

Kenosha’s North Pier Lighthouse foghorn is now ON DEMAND.   The fog horn is now remotely operated by vhf radio.  Mariners operating on channel 83a can activate the fog signal by keying there mic 5x on on channel 83a.

So next time its low visibility,  give the North Pier Lighthouse a hail and it will respond.

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 A tidbit about Our Great Lake....

Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. It has a surface area of 22,400 square miles (58,000 km2), making it the largest lake entirely within one country by surface area (Lake Baikal, in Russia, is larger by water volume), and the fifth largest lake in the world. It is 307 miles (494 km) long by 118 miles (190 km) wide with a shoreline 1,640 miles (2,640 km) long. The lake's average depth is 46 fathoms 3 feet (279 ft; 85 m), while its greatest depth is 153 fathoms 5 feet (923 ft; 281 m).[It contains a volume of 1,180 cubic miles (4,918 km³) of water. Its surface averages 577 feet (176 m) above sea level, the same as Lake Huron, to which it is connected through the Straits of Mackinac.
 
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