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33-698: Copper Island is a local name given to the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula (projecting northeastward into Lake Superior at the western end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , United States of America ), separated from the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula by Portage Lake and the Keweenaw Waterway . The area was "isolated" by dredging in 1859 and construction in the 1860s of a ship canal across an isthmus of

66-617: A need for educated mining professionals and directly led in 1885 to the founding of the Michigan Mining School (now Michigan Technological University ) in Houghton . Although MTU discontinued its undergraduate mining engineering program in 2006, the university continues to offer engineering degrees in a variety of other disciplines. (In 2012 mining engineering was restarted in the re-formed Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.) Running concurrently with

99-540: A resource for functional tooling achieved popularity around 3000 B.C., during the Middle Archaic Stage. The focus of copper working seems to have gradually shifted from functional tools to ornamental objects by the Late Archaic Stage c. 1200 B.C. Native Americans would build a fire to heat the rock around and over a copper mass and, after heating, pour on cold water to crack the rock. The copper

132-836: Is becoming less common. It is separated from the rest of the peninsula by the Keweenaw Waterway , a natural waterway which was dredged and expanded in the 1860s across the peninsula between the cities of Houghton (named for Douglass Houghton ) on the south side and Hancock on the north. A Keweenaw Water Trail has been established around Copper Island. The Water Trail stretches approximately 125 miles (200 km) and can be paddled in five to ten days, depending on weather and water conditions. The Keweenaw Fault runs fairly lengthwise through both Keweenaw and neighboring Houghton counties. This ancient geological slip has given rise to cliffs. U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and Brockway Mountain Drive , north of Calumet , were constructed along

165-488: Is found. Much of the native copper found in the Keweenaw comes in either the form of cavity fillings on lava flow surfaces, which has a ”lacy” consistency, or as "float" copper, which is found as a solid mass. Copper ore may occur within conglomerate or breccia as void or interclast fillings. The conglomerate layers occur as interbedded units within the volcanic pile. The Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale , formed by

198-476: Is known locally as Copper Island . The cities of Houghton , the peninsula's largest population center, and Hancock , are located along the shores of the Keweenaw Waterway. Houghton is home to Michigan Technological University . The Keweenaw Peninsula is politically divided primarily between Houghton and Keweenaw counties, both of which occupy the Houghton micropolitan area . A small portion of

231-438: Is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical-lift bridge. More than 35,000 tons of concrete and 7,000 tons of steel went into the bridge, which replaced the narrow 54-year-old swing bridge, declared a menace to navigation on the busy Keweenaw Waterway. Hancock and Houghton hold an annual celebration called Bridgefest to commemorate the opening of the bridge which united their two communities. The original bridge on

264-809: The Duchy of Finland influenced these allegiances and beliefs. The principal towns on the Copper Island end of Keweenaw Peninsula are Hancock and Calumet . The area is connected to the rest of the Upper Peninsula by the Portage Lake Lift Bridge , the latest in a series of bridges between Hancock and Houghton . The bridge crosses the Portage Canal. US 41 crosses this bridge . It enters Michigan at Menominee and goes north to its terminus just east of Copper Harbor at

297-519: The Houghton–Hancock Bridge ) connects the cities of Hancock and Houghton , in the US state of Michigan. It crosses Portage Lake , a portion of the waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula with a canal linking the final several miles to Lake Superior to the northwest. US Highway 41 (US 41) and M-26 are both routed across the bridge. It is the only land-based link between

330-695: The Quincy , Calumet & Hecla and Champion mining { See, Copper Range Company } settlements, and cleared forestland for traditional Finnish agriculture as in Toivola , Tapiola , Elo , Pelkie , and Waasa ; Finns settled north and south of the Portage Waterway that bisects the peninsula. Perhaps more than any other immigrant group, the Finnish communities in the district were bisected into divisions of politics and faith. The Finns who immigrated to

363-471: The copper country of the Upper Peninsula. Inhabitants of the area wryly claimed "that they were outside the American mainland. In practical usage, however, the term included towns such as Oskar, Atlantic, Baltic, South Range, Houghton, Dodgeville and Hurontown" all of which were south of Portage Lake. Nevertheless, "unquestionably" Finns in those locales considered themselves to be "Copper Islanders". As

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396-421: The Finnish immigrant identification of the island that comprises the northern half of the Keweenaw Peninsula to a symbolic island of landing, an Ellis Island . Michigan’s Copper Country is recognized as focal to Finnish immigration to America, the birthplace of many Finnish-American institutions religious, political and educational. This “island” includes both settlements in growing industrial urban communities like

429-563: The Keweenaw Peninsula from Portage Lake—on the east side of the Keweenaw Peninsula—to Lake Superior on the west. The ship canal is 100 feet (30 m) wide and 21 feet (6.4 m) deep. The resulting "island" was called Kuparisaari (meaning "Copper Island") by Finnish , Irish , and French / French Canadian settlers in the area. However, neither the United States Geological Survey nor

462-635: The Midcontinent Rift System, are the only sites in the United States with evidence of prehistoric aboriginal mining of copper. Artifacts made from this copper by these ancient indigenous people were traded as far south as present-day Alabama . These areas are also the unique location where chlorastrolite , the state gem of Michigan, can be found. The northern end of the peninsula is sometimes referred to as Copper Island (or "Kuparisaari" by Finnish immigrants), although this term

495-474: The area that use it. The Race for Copper Island (New York: Benziger Bros., 1905) is a novel written by Henry Sanislaus Spaulding (1865–1934) that involves the area. The phrase "Copper Island" was also used, especially in the 18th century, to describe a possibly mythical island in Lake Superior where there is an abundance of copper sitting on the surface of the land. While some scholars believe this

528-474: The base of the peninsula in Hancock, Michigan , where the annual snowfall average is about 220 in (560 cm). Farther north, in a community called Delaware , an unofficial average of about 240 in (610 cm) is maintained. At Delaware, the record snowfall for one season was 390 in (990 cm) in 1979. Averages over 250 in (640 cm) certainly occur in the higher elevations closer to

561-491: The cliff line. Lake Superior significantly controls the climate of the Keweenaw Peninsula, keeping winters milder than those in surrounding areas. Spring is cool and brief, transitioning into a summer with highs near 70 °F (21 °C). Fall begins in September, with winter beginning in mid-November. The peninsula receives copious amounts of lake-effect snow from Lake Superior. Official records are maintained close to

594-435: The copper mining district held to a pietistic Laestadian (Apostolic) Lutheran belief, to the state-sanctioned Lutheranism of Finland ( Suomi Synod ) or rejected faith altogether. Within these divides of conscience of faith was a wide political spectrum: conservative to liberal adherents, resolute temperance advocates and active radical socialists. The social and economic conditions that emigrants left in northern Scandinavia and

627-623: The far eastern tip of the peninsula . Copper Island is the core that the Keweenaw Water Trail wraps around. It is a designated loop route (which eliminates any need to use a shuttle or spot two vehicles) around and through the Keweenaw Peninsula for canoes and sea kayaks. The Keweenaw Waterway is central to it, crossing the peninsula. The 'Copper Island Classic' is an ice hockey tournament contested annually between Hancock Central High School and Calumet High School. Such local usage still persists, and there are many business in

660-510: The foregoing source indicates, "Copper Island" has sometimes been used as a sobriquet for Michigan's "copper country." But in a larger sense, "Kuparisaari" was an amalgam of geographic location and cultural identity, particularly for the Finns. As one scholarly source notes: Finnish immigration to Michigan’s copper district grew to become the most populous ethnic group with an enduring cultural identity. Kuparisaari, “copper island,” went beyond

693-679: The geological formations of the region are also detailed. From 1964 to 1971, the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University cooperated with NASA and the U.S. Navy to run the Keweenaw Rocket launch site . A partial list of towns in the Keweenaw Peninsula: 47°12′00″N 88°25′30″W  /  47.20000°N 88.42500°W  / 47.20000; -88.42500 Portage Lake Lift Bridge The Portage Lake Lift Bridge (officially

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726-434: The mining boom in the Keweenaw was the white pine lumber boom. Trees were cut for timbers for mine shafts, to heat the communities around the large copper mines, and to help build a growing nation. Much of the logging at the time was done in winter due to the ease of operability with the snow. Due to the logging practices at that time, the forest of the Keweenaw looks much different today from 100 years ago. US 41 terminates in

759-401: The north (so-called Copper Island ) and south sections of the Keweenaw peninsula. In June 2022, it was dedicated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. This moveable bridge is a lift bridge with the middle section capable of being lifted from its low point of four feet clearance over the water to a clearance of 100 feet (30 m) to allow boats to pass underneath. The bridge

792-634: The northern Keweenaw at the Michigan State Park housing Fort Wilkins. US 41 was the so-called "Military Trail" that started in Chicago in the 1900s and ended in the Keweenaw wilderness. The restored fort has numerous exhibits. For detailed information on the region's mineralogical history, see the virtual tour of the peninsula written by the Mineralogical Society of America, found in "External links" on this page. Information on

825-575: The same site was a wooden swing bridge built in 1875. The bridge was built by James P. Edward of Fox and Howard Inc. of Chicago. Three local men raised $ 47,000 in stocks for the toll bridge. Construction began in the spring of 1875 and was finished in the spring of 1876. This was replaced by a steel swing bridge, the Portage Canal Swing Bridge, built by the King Bridge Company in 1895. The Portage Canal Swing Bridge

858-626: The southeast of the peninsula is part of Baraga County . The peninsula measures about 150 miles (240 km) in length and about 50 miles (80 km) in width at its base. The ancient lava flows of the Keweenaw Peninsula were produced during the Mesoproterozoic Era as a part of the Midcontinent Rift between 1.096 and 1.087 billion years ago. This volcanic activity produced the only strata on Earth where large-scale economically recoverable 97 percent pure native copper

891-421: The span would then only need to be raised for large ships or lowered to allow trains to cross. With the end of rail service in 1982, the lowest position is no longer needed to allow trains to pass so the bridge is not lowered below the middle position during the summer boating season except for periods of maintenance or repair. In the winter after the lake freezes, the bridge is placed in the lowest position to allow

924-423: The state of Michigan identify this area as an island or use this name. Isle Royale is the largest naturally isolated island in Lake Superior; considered as an island, Copper Island would be the largest, with an area of around 560 sq mi (1,500 km). It has a population around 21,500. Historically, "Kuparisaari" ('Copper Island') was used to mean the Keweenaw north of Portage Lake, but more generically

957-418: The tip of the peninsula. Beginning as early as seven thousand years ago and apparently peaking around 3000 B.C., Native Americans dug copper from the southern shore of Lake Superior. This development was possible in large part because, in this region, large deposits of copper were easily accessible in surface rock and from shallow diggings. Native copper could be found as large nuggets and wiry masses. Copper as

990-401: Was a reference to Isle Royale, the "island," because of its abundance of copper, could also have been the northern Keweenaw Peninsula, especially given the presence of vast quantities of native copper in the region. Keweenaw Peninsula The peninsula is bisected by the Keweenaw Waterway , a partly natural, partly artificial waterway serving as a canal. The north side of the canal

1023-503: Was damaged when a ship, the Northern Wave, collided with it in 1905. The center swinging section of the bridge was replaced and a similar incident almost occurred again in 1920, but the ship was able to stop by dropping its anchor, which snagged on the bottom of the canal. In 1959, the Portage Canal Swing Bridge was replaced, at a cost of about $ 11-13 million (sources vary), by the current bridge. The Al Johnson Construction Company

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1056-487: Was the general contractor. The American Bridge Company built the superstructure and Bethlehem Steel provided the structural steel. The original 1959 design by Hazelet and Erdal of Chicago of the bridge's liftspan had roadways constructed on both levels with rails embedded in the road surface on the lower deck. This allowed the span to be partially raised to allow small and medium boat traffic to pass underneath without disrupting vehicular traffic. From this middle position,

1089-533: Was then pounded out, using rock hammers and stone chisels. The Keweenaw's rich deposits of copper (and some silver) were extracted on an industrial scale beginning around the middle of the 19th century. The industry grew through the latter part of the century and employed thousands of people well into the 20th century. Hard rock mining in the region ceased in 1967 though copper sulfide deposits continued for some time after in Ontonagon. This vigorous industry created

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