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79-602: In the early centuries of the colonial period, the Nine Mile Portage was a minor fur trade route. It was used by Étienne Brûlé and Alexander Henry , among others. John Franklin 'fix[ed] the longitude and latitude of the “Nottawassaga Portage” at 44º22’55"N and 79º53’41"W' during his second overland expedition to the Arctic Ocean . Following the War of 1812, the portage was used by British forces until as late as

158-629: A pan-tribal offensive against British outposts in the Ohio Country . The Ojibwe warriors attacked Fort Michilimackinac . Danvers was killed and Henry, after hiding for a time in the house of Charles Michel de Langlade , was captured by the Ojibwe. On June 6, Henry and three other British prisoners were taken by canoe toward Beaver Island . As they reached Waugoshance Point , an Odawa tribal appeared and spoke with them, luring them close to land. Several Odawa warriors sprang from cover and charged

237-523: A commission merchant and auctioneer in partnership with William Lindsay. Plagued by ill health, he worked hard at a job that he did not find satisfying. Despite those reverses of fortune, Henry maintained a secure place in Montreal's mercantile society. He served as a captain in the militia and from 1794 to 1821 as justice of the peace . He lavishly entertained leading merchants in his home, regularly signed petitions and memorials, and attended parties. He

316-551: A company to mine silver found in copper ore on the shores of Lake Superior . The expenses involved made the venture unprofitable and the company wound up its affairs in 1774. In 1775, Henry took four large and twelve small canoes to explore the territory northwest of Lake Superior . Henry, Cadot, Peter Pond , the brothers Thomas and Joseph Frobisher then began to challenge the Hudson's Bay Company . Their group, with forty men, stopped at Cumberland House and afterwards built

395-685: A complete monopoly over the Lake Superior trade and without competition he was able to charge exorbitant prices. There, he also came into contact with the Frontiersman Robert Rogers , but Henry reported that Rogers never paid him for certain services rendered. In 1767–68 he wintered on the Michipicoten River and entered into a partnership with Sir William Johnson , the Duke of Gloucester and others, forming

474-591: A fortune of at least one million of dollars." In 1792, Henry and his nephew Alexander Henry the younger together obtained one share in the North West Company for six years. In 1796 he sold his interest to William Hallowell (1771–1838), but continued to buy furs from traders and export them to England . When one of his uninsured shipments was captured by the French in 1801, he suffered a serious financial crisis. In order to repair his fortunes, Henry became

553-657: A merchant whose father, Alexander Henry (d. 1744), had emigrated to British North America from the West of England to seek his fortune. He received a good education and afterward took an apprenticeship in business. From the age of twenty, Henry was working as a merchant out of Albany, New York . He made a lucrative but hazardous living supplying the British army during the French and Indian War (the North American front of

632-590: A minor Ojibwe chief, Wawatam , adopted Henry as a brother. Henry described the Ojibwe as "peaceful", "wholesome", "kind" and "trustworthy" and said that he had a "great and deep respect" for them. Henry's ability to make friends with both the French and their allied Indians greatly facilitated his trading activities. Between 1762 and 1763, Henry did business at Sault Ste Marie , where he formed friendships with Jean Baptiste Cadotte, Sr. (father of Michel Cadotte ) and Sir Robert Davers . However, when they returned to Michilimackinac , Chief Pontiac had already launched

711-467: A sunken body will bloat it with gas, causing it to float to the surface after a few days. But Lake Superior's water is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth , and bodies tend to sink and never resurface. Joe MacInnis reported that in July 1994, explorer Frederick Shannon's Expedition 94 to the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald discovered a man's body near the port side of her pilothouse, not far from

790-772: A trading post on Amisk Lake , the first post to be built north of the Saskatchewan River . In 1776, Henry set off by foot to Fort à la Corne , following the Saskatchewan River, and having satisfied his curiosity secured some furs from the Assiniboines . He then purchased 12,000 additional beaver skins from a trip up the Churchill River from the Chipewyans , and some of his last packs were forcibly acquired from Robert Longmoor, an agent for

869-482: A very small ratio (1.55) of catchment area to surface area, which indicates minimal terrestrial influence. American limnologist J. Val Klump was the first person to reach the lowest depth of Lake Superior on July 30, 1985, as part of a scientific expedition, which at 122 fathoms 1 foot (733 ft or 223 m) below sea level is the second-lowest spot in the continental interior of the United States and

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948-541: A voyageur and let Campion pass for the proprietor. No one was fooled. When he arrived among the Ojibwe at Michilimackinac , Henry found himself surrounded by sixty of their warriors, "each with his tomahawk in one hand, and scalping knife in the other." The imposingly tall war chief Mihnehwehna reminded him that the British may have conquered the French, but they had not conquered the Ojibwe . After capturing New France ,

1027-716: Is Isle Royale in Michigan. Isle Royale contains several lakes, some of which also contain islands. Other well-known islands include Madeline Island in Wisconsin, Michipicoten Island in Ontario, and Grand Island (the location of the Grand Island National Recreation Area ) in Michigan. The larger cities on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota , and Superior, Wisconsin ; Thunder Bay , Ontario; Marquette, Michigan ; and

1106-408: Is 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below the datum. In the winter of 1926 Lake Superior reached its lowest recorded level at 1.58 feet (0.48 m) below the datum. Additionally, the entire first half of the year (January to June) included record low months. The low water was a continuation of the dropping lake levels from the previous year, 1925, which set low-water records for October through December. During

1185-423: Is 4,229 feet (1,289 m) above sea level.) While the temperature of the surface of Lake Superior varies seasonally, the temperature below 110 fathoms (660 ft; 200 m) is an almost constant 39 °F (4 °C). This variation in temperature makes the lake seasonally stratified . Twice per year, however, the water column reaches a uniform temperature of 39 °F (4 °C) from top to bottom, and

1264-437: Is 80.5 fathoms (483 ft; 147 m) with a maximum depth of 222.17 fathoms (1,333 ft; 406 m). Lake Superior contains 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km ) of water. There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America to a depth of 30 centimetres (12 in). The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,726 miles (4,387 km) (including islands). The lake boasts

1343-537: Is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Lake Superior's size reduces the severity of the seasons of its humid continental climate (more typically seen in locations like Nova Scotia ). The water surface's slow reaction to temperature changes, seasonally ranging between 32 and 55 °F (0–13 °C) around 1970, helps to moderate surrounding air temperatures in

1422-449: Is an unusual record of environmental nitrogen buildup. It may relate to anthropogenic alternations to the regional nitrogen cycle , but researchers are still unsure of the causes of this change to the lake's ecology. As for other Great Lakes fish, populations have also been affected by the accidental or intentional introduction of foreign species such as the sea lamprey and Eurasian ruffe . Accidental introductions have occurred in part by

1501-630: Is only us four old friends ( James McGill , Isaac Todd , Joseph Frobisher , and himself) alive, all the new North westards are a parcel of boys and upstarts, who were not born in our time, and supposes they know much more of the Indian trade than any before them." To recapture his exciting past, he wrote a memoir of his life which he published in New York that year and dedicated to his English friend, Sir Joseph Banks . Travels and Adventures in Canada and

1580-437: Is remembered for his accomplishments in society and as one of the most important business leaders who turned Montreal into an innovative centre of business expansion. At age 85, he died at his home on Notre-Dame Street , Montreal , "esteemed by all who knew him." As was the custom with early fur traders , Henry had taken a 'country wife', a Native Indian whose sister was in the same way married to Simon McTavish . By her he

1659-596: Is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume , holding 10% of the world's surface fresh water. Located in central North America, it is the northernmost and westernmost of the Great Lakes of North America , straddling the Canada–United States border with the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and east and the U.S. states of Minnesota to

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1738-707: The Hudson Bay watershed, are regulated by the International Lake Superior Board of Control , which was established in 1914 by the International Joint Commission . Lake Superior's water level was at a new record low in September 2007, slightly less than the previous record low in 1926. Water levels recovered within a few days. Historic high water The lake's water level fluctuates from month to month, with

1817-589: The Hudson's Bay Company . Laden with furs, Henry returned to Montreal and gave the governor, Sir Guy Carleton , a large map of the western region through which he had travelled. Henry's imagination was caught by the rich potential of the Northwest Territories and he sailed to England in the autumn of 1776 with a proposal for the Hudson's Bay Company . Bearing a Letter of introduction from Luc de la Corne to his brother Abbé Joseph-Marie de La Corne de Chaptes, Henry next went to France where he

1896-442: The Michipicoten River and Sault Ste Marie; all the time, he worked closely with his old friend Cadot. Between 1778 and 1781 he visited England three times and developed friendships with Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander . Having discussed the possibility at Banks' residence on Soho Square with him and Solander, on his last trip to England , Henry delivered a detailed plan to Banks for an expedition to find an overland route to

1975-810: The North West Company . During the 1790s, Henry and another close friend, John Askin , were interested in land speculation in Ohio . One of their ventures, known as the Cuyahoga Purchase, came to naught when the Ohio Indians from whom the land had been acquired at the end of the Northwest Indian War refused to bring forth their land claims at the Treaty of Greenville . The deeds that had been obtained by Henry and his associates were considered invalid, which caused Henry to moan, "We have lost

2054-594: The Pacific Ocean . That had seemed possible when they had studied Captain Cook 's recent findings, but as it was, Cook had made a mistake and so the planned expedition came to nothing. Henry had made a prominent name for himself, and from 1781 he settled in Montreal as a general merchant. He was still very much attached to the fur trade with occasional trips made to Detroit or Michilimackinac , and particularly

2133-700: The Pic River , the White River , the Michipicoten River , the Bois Brule River and the Kaministiquia River . The lake's outlet at St. Marys River has a relatively steep gradient with rapids. The Soo Locks enable ships to bypass the rapids and to overcome the 25-foot (8 m) height difference between Lakes Superior and Huron. The lake's average surface elevation is 600 feet (183 m) above sea level . Until approximately 1887,

2212-604: The Seven Years' War ). In 1760, after Wolfe 's victory at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham , Henry was placed in charge of three loaded supply bateaux, which followed Lord Amherst 's advance along Lake Ontario to Montreal . In 1760, Henry was the first British subject known to have visited the area of Milwaukee. In early 1761, at Les Cèdres , Henry met the former fur trader Jean-Baptiste Leduc, who acquainted him with

2291-781: The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve . Storms that claimed multiple ships include the Mataafa Storm in November 1905 and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 . Wreckage of SS  Cyprus —a 420-foot (130 m) ore carrier that sank on October 11, 1907, during a Lake Superior storm in 77 fathoms (460 ft or 140 m) of water—was located in August 2007. Built in Lorain, Ohio , Cyprus

2370-502: The lake effect snow belts along the shores of the lake, especially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . Two recent consecutive winters (2013–2014 and 2014–2015) brought high ice coverage to the Great Lakes, and on March 6, 2014, overall ice coverage peaked at 92.5%, the second-highest in recorded history. Lake Superior's ice coverage further beat 2014's record in 2019, reaching 95% coverage. The largest island in Lake Superior

2449-464: The 1780s, Henry introduced John Jacob Astor into the North American fur trade ; subsequently, Astor would stay as Henry's guest during his annual visits to Montreal . Alexander Henry was born at New Brunswick, New Jersey , to an educated merchant family related to Matthew Henry . His father was from England and his mother was from Wales . He was the eldest son of John Henry (d. 1766),

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2528-493: The 1850s to transport supplies to the naval base at Penetanguishene . 44°22′55″N 79°47′13″W  /  44.382°N 79.787°W  / 44.382; -79.787 This Ontario location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alexander Henry the elder Alexander Henry 'The Elder' , in French: Alexandre Henri Le Vieux (August 1739 – 4 April 1824)

2607-414: The British had neglected to make peace with the Indian allies of the French. Having put to use all of his diplomatic skills for which he would become well known, Henry "inwardly endured the tortures of suspense" before Mineweh declared that he admired Henry's bravery for entering their lands. He said since Henry did not come intending to make war, he could "sleep tranquilly" among them. That winter of 1761–62,

2686-526: The Hudson's Bay Company name. Many towns around the lake are current or former mining areas, or engaged in processing or shipping. Today, tourism is another significant industry: the sparsely populated Lake Superior country, with its rugged shorelines and wilderness, attracts vacationers and adventurers. Lake Superior has been an important link in the Great Lakes Waterway , providing a route for

2765-693: The Indian Territories between the years 1760 and 1776 (published in New York City in 1809), which he dedicated to his friend Sir Joseph Banks . The book is considered an adventure classic and one of the best descriptions of Native Indian life at this time. An "easy and dignified" raconteur, in 1776 Henry was invited to give an account of his journeys at the Royal Society in London and at Versailles to Queen Marie Antoinette . In

2844-472: The Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776 has become a Canadian adventure classic and is still considered as one of the best descriptions of Native Indian life at the time of Henry's travels. "A middle-sized man, easy yet dignified." Henry was known among the Indians and the French as "the handsome Englishman." He never recovered the wealth he had amassed during the height of the fur trade , but

2923-612: The Midcontinent Rift, and there are several amethyst mines in the Thunder Bay area. Lava erupted from the rift and formed the black basalt rock of Michipicoten Island, Black Bay Peninsula, and St. Ignace Island . In the most recent geological history, during the Wisconsin glaciation 10,000 years ago, ice covered the region at a thickness of 1.25 miles (2 km). The land contours familiar today were carved by

3002-502: The New York merchant John Jacob Astor . He introduced Astor into the Canadian trade and Astor was Henry's guest during his annual visits to Montreal . In the 1790s, Henry and Astor assisted Simon McTavish and the North West Company in organizing shipments of furs to China. In 1792, a fur trade partnership between John Forsyth , Jacob Jordan and Alexander Ellice attempted to entice Henry and Peter Pond to join them in opposition to

3081-505: The Ojibwe name as Otchipwe-kitchi-gami (a transliteration of Ojibwe Gichigami ). In the 17th century, the first French explorers approached the great inland sea by way of the Ottawa River and Lake Huron; they referred to their discovery as le lac supérieur (the upper lake, i.e., above Lake Huron). Some 17th-century Jesuit missionaries referred to it as Lac Tracy (for Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy ). After taking control of

3160-632: The Wawatam and his family for nearly a year and followed them on their seasonal moves to hunting and fishing territories in lower Michigan . Henry's experiences during this winter of 1763–64, described in his memoirs, are a valuable primary source into Native American life during the fur trade era. They returned to Michilimackinac in the spring of 1764 to trade their furs, but some of the Ojibwe residing in Saginaw Bay plotted to kill Henry, and Wawatam permitted him to go to Sault Ste Marie to seek

3239-483: The advance and retreat of the ice sheet . The retreat left gravel, sand, clay and boulder deposits. Glacial meltwaters gathered in the Superior basin creating Lake Minong , a precursor to Lake Superior. Without the immense weight of the ice, the land rebounded , and a drainage outlet formed at Sault Ste. Marie, becoming today's St. Mary's River. The first people came to the Lake Superior region 10,000 years ago after

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3318-575: The arrival of Europeans, the Anishinaabe made themselves middle-men between the French fur traders and other Native peoples. They soon became the dominant Native American nation in the region: they forced out the Sioux and Fox and won a victory against the Iroquois west of Sault Ste. Marie in 1662. By the mid-18th century, the Ojibwe occupied all of Lake Superior's shores. In the 18th century, as

3397-551: The booming fur trade supplied Europe with beaver hats , the Hudson's Bay Company had a virtual monopoly in the region until 1783, when the rival North West Company was formed. The North West Company built forts on Lake Superior at Grand Portage , Fort William , Nipigon, the Pic River, the Michipicoten River, and Sault Ste. Marie. But by 1821, with competition harming the profits of both, the companies merged under

3476-500: The canoe, forcibly removing the four prisoners, who were taken back to Mackinac. During the ensuing division of the spoils from the fort, Henry ended up as a possession of the Ojibwe leader Minavavana. Fortunately Wawatam intervened and spirited Henry away to his own lodge. Several days later, when Henry was threatened again, Wawatam came to his rescue and hid him in Mackinac Island 's Skull Cave overnight. He lived with

3555-623: The direct ancestors of the Ojibwe and Cree . The people of the Laurel complex (c. 500 BC to AD 500) developed seine net fishing, evidence being found at rivers around Superior such as the Pic and Michipicoten. The people of the Terminal Woodland period were evident in the area from AD 900 to 1650. They were Algonquian peoples who hunted, fished and gathered berries. They used snowshoes , birch bark canoes and conical or domed lodges. At

3634-533: The expedition of Colonel John Bradstreet from Niagara to Detroit , and from there, he went with Captain William Howard's troops who reoccupied Michilimackinac in September, 1764. In 1765, Henry acquired a license to trade in the Lake Superior region. Combining British capital with French Canadian experience, he formed a partnership with Cadot. For the next few years Henry was able to maintain

3713-535: The highest lake levels in October and November. The normal high-water mark is 1.17 feet (0.36 m) above the datum (601.1 ft or 183.2 m). In the summer of 1985, Lake Superior reached its highest recorded level at 2.33 feet (0.71 m) above the datum. 2019 and 2020 set new high-water records in nearly every month. Historic low water The lake's lowest levels occur in March and April. The normal low-water mark

3792-621: The lake appeared to have increased by about 4.5 °F (2.5 °C) between 1979 and 2007, compared with an approximately 2.7 °F (1.5 °C) increase in the surrounding average air temperature. The increase in the lake's surface temperature may be related to the decreasing ice cover. Less winter ice cover allows more solar radiation to penetrate and warm the water. If trends continue, Lake Superior, which freezes over completely once every 20 years, could routinely be ice-free by 2040 although more current data through 2021 does not support this trend. Warmer temperatures could lead to more snow in

3871-587: The lake waters thoroughly mix. This feature makes the lake dimictic . Because of its volume, Lake Superior has a retention time of 191 years. Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly feature wave heights of over 20 feet (6 m). Waves well over 30 feet (9 m) have been recorded. Lake Superior is fed by more than 200 rivers, including the Nipigon River , the St. Louis River , the Pigeon River ,

3950-530: The lake. With 78 crewmembers dead, their sinking marked the largest loss of life on Lake Superior to date. SS  Edmund Fitzgerald is the last ship that sank in Lake Superior, 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) from Whitefish Point in a storm on November 10, 1975. The wreck was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald " . All 29 crew members died, and no bodies were recovered. Edmund Fitzgerald

4029-662: The latter when he sustained heavy losses following the conclusion of the American Revolution . In 1785, Henry with seventeen of the other most prominent fur traders was a founding member of the Beaver Club at Montreal. During the mid-1780s, Henry encouraged a friend in New York , William Edgar (1736–1820), to enter the trade in furs with China . Fascinated by the prospects offered by the Pacific coast, Henry passed on his ideas, which he called "my favorite plan," to

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4108-446: The most frequently mined. Notable production includes gold from the Hemlo mine near Marathon , copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula and the Mamainse Point Formation , iron from the Gogebic Range , silver at Silver Islet , and uranium at Theano Point. The mountains steadily eroded, depositing layers of sediments that compacted and became limestone , dolomite , taconite and the shale at Kakabeka Falls . The continental crust

4187-407: The mouth of the Michipicoten River, nine layers of encampments have been discovered. Most of the Pukaskwa Pits were likely made during this time. The Anishinaabe people (an ethnic grouping including the Ojibwe/Chippewa ) have inhabited the Lake Superior region for over five hundred years and were preceded by the Dakota , Meskwaki (Fox) , Menominee , Nipigon, Noquet and Gros Ventres . After

4266-468: The natural hydraulic conveyance through the St. Marys River rapids determined the outflow from Lake Superior. By 1921, development in support of transportation and hydroelectric power resulted in gates, locks, power canals and other control structures completely spanning St. Marys rapids. The regulating structure is known as the Compensating Works and is operated according to a regulation plan known as Plan 1977-A. Water levels, including diversions of water from

4345-453: The nine-month period of October 1925 to June 1926, water levels ranged from 1.58 feet (0.48 m) to 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below Chart Datum. In the summer of 2007 monthly historic lows were set; August at 0.66 feet (0.20 m), and September at 0.58 feet (0.18 m). According to a study by professors at the University of Minnesota Duluth , Lake Superior may have warmed faster than its surrounding area. Summer surface temperatures in

4424-976: The open door, "fully clothed, wearing an orange life jacket, and lying face down in the sediment". In February 2024 it was announced that wreckage from the Arlington was discovered from a sinking in 1940. More than 80 species of fish have been found in Lake Superior. Species native to the lake include banded killifish , bloater , brook trout , burbot , cisco , lake sturgeon , lake trout , lake whitefish , longnose sucker , muskellunge , northern pike , pumpkinseed , rock bass , round whitefish , smallmouth bass , walleye , white sucker and yellow perch . In addition, many fish species have been either intentionally or accidentally introduced to Lake Superior: Atlantic salmon , brown trout , carp , chinook salmon , coho salmon , freshwater drum , pink salmon , rainbow smelt , rainbow trout , round goby , ruffe , sea lamprey and white perch . Lake Superior has fewer dissolved nutrients relative to its water volume than

4503-514: The other Great Lakes and so is less productive in terms of fish populations and is an oligotrophic lake . This is a result of the underdeveloped soils found in its relatively small watershed. It is also a reflection of relatively small human population and small amount of agriculture in its watershed. However, nitrate concentrations in the lake have been continuously rising for more than a century. They are still much lower than levels considered dangerous to human health; but this steady, long-term rise

4582-500: The other Great Lakes began sailing in 1816. Ice closes the lake shipping from mid-January to late March. Exact dates for the shipping season vary each year, depending on weather conditions that form and break the ice. The southern shore of Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Michigan , and Whitefish Point is known as the " Graveyard of the Great Lakes "; more ships have been lost around the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior. These shipwrecks are now protected by

4661-401: The poem The Song of Hiawatha , as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song " The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald ". According to other sources, the full Ojibwe name is ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Ojibwe Gichigami ("Ojibwe's Great Sea") or ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Anishinaabe Gichigami (" Anishinaabe 's Great Sea"). The 1878 dictionary by Father Frederic Baraga , the first one written for the Ojibway language, gives

4740-427: The protection of Cadotte. He was still not safe since another Ojibwe chief, Madjeckewiss, followed him there with some of his warriors intent on killing him, and it took Cadotte's diplomatic skills to dissuade them. Soon afterward, Sir William Johnson at lastheld a peace conference at Fort Niagara , and both Henry and the Ojibwes attended. Eager to return to Michilimackinac to recover his property, Henry accompanied

4819-401: The region from the French in the 1760s following their defeat in the French and Indian War , the British anglicized the lake's name to Superior , "on account of its being superior in magnitude to any of the lakes on that vast continent". Lake Superior empties into Lake Huron via the St. Marys River and the Soo Locks (Sault Ste. Marie locks). Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in

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4898-489: The retreat of the glaciers in the Last Glacial Period . They are known as the Plano , and they used stone-tipped spears to hunt caribou on the northwestern side of Lake Minong. The Shield Archaic peoples arrived around 5000 BC; evidence of this culture can be found at the eastern and western ends of the Canadian shore. They used bows and arrows, paddled dugout canoes, fished, hunted, mined copper for tools and weapons, and established trading networks. They are believed to be

4977-426: The rich possibilities of trading at Michilimackinac and around Lake Superior . That spring at Montreal , he secured a fur trade pass from Thomas Gage , the second British subject (by only a few days) to do so. Henry wrote, "proposing to avail myself of the new market, which was thus thrown open to British adventure, I... procured a quantity of goods" and set out on the Ottawa River to Fort Michilimackinac . As he

5056-413: The summer (cooler with frequent sea breeze formations) and winter, and creates lake-effect snow in colder months. The hills and mountains that border the lake hold moisture and fog, particularly in the fall. The rocks of Lake Superior's northern shore date back to the early history of the earth. During the Precambrian (between 4.5 billion and 540 million years ago) magma forcing its way to

5135-399: The surface created the intrusive granites of the Canadian Shield . These ancient granites can be seen on the North Shore today. It was during the Penokean orogeny , part of the process that created the Great Lakes tectonic zone , that many valuable metals were deposited. The region surrounding the lake has proved to be rich in minerals, with copper , iron , silver , gold and nickel

5214-402: The third-lowest spot in the interior of the North American continent after Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (1,503 ft or 458 m below sea level) and Iliamna Lake in Alaska 942 ft or 287 m. (Though Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and deeper than Lake Superior, Crater Lake's elevation is higher and consequently its deepest point

5293-403: The transportation of iron ore as well as grain and other mined and manufactured materials. Large cargo vessels called lake freighters , as well as smaller ocean-going freighters , transport these commodities across Lake Superior. Shipping was slow to arrive at Lake Superior in the 19th century. The first steamboat to run on the lake was the Independence in 1847, whereas the first steamers on

5372-636: The twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan , and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario . Duluth-Superior , at the western end of Lake Superior, is the most inland point on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the most inland port in the world. Among the scenic places on the lake are Apostle Islands National Lakeshore , Brockway Mountain Drive on the Keweenaw Peninsula , Isle Royale National Park , Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park , Pukaskwa National Park , Lake Superior Provincial Park , Grand Island National Recreation Area, Sleeping Giant (Ontario) and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore . The Great Lakes Circle Tour

5451-434: The west and Michigan and Wisconsin to the south. It drains into Lake Huron via St. Marys River , then through the lower Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean. The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi-gami (in syllabics : ᑭᒋᑲᒥ , pronounced gitchi-gami or kitchi-gami in different dialects), meaning "great sea". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as " Gitche Gumee " in

5530-535: The world by area and the third largest in volume, behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa . The Caspian Sea , while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume, is brackish . Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles (82,103 km ), which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria . It has a maximum length of 350 statute miles (560  km ; 300  nmi ) and maximum breadth of 160 statute miles (257 km; 139 nmi). Its average depth

5609-466: Was "altogether a stranger to the commerce in which (he) was engaging," he stopped while still in Canada to hire a guide, Etienne-Charles Campion, an experienced voyageur . In 1761, as they travelled west, Henry was repeatedly warned by the Indians they encountered not to risk his life among the Ojibwe , who remained fiercely loyal to the French. When Henry took the warnings seriously, he did not have enough supplies to turn back. He disguised himself as

5688-642: Was an American-born explorer, author, merchant who settled in Quebec following the Conquest of New France and was a partner in the North West Company and a founding member and vice-chairman of the Beaver Club . From 1763 to 1764, he lived and hunted with Wawatam of the Ojibwe , who had adopted him as a brother. "Blessed with as many lives as a cat", he recounted his time with the Ojibwe and subsequent explorations in his Travels and Adventures in Canada and

5767-406: Was battered so intensely by Lake Superior that the 729-foot (222 m) ship split in half; her two pieces lie approximately 170 feet (52 m) apart at a depth of 88 fathoms (530 ft or 160 m). Lightfoot sings that "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead". This is because of the unusually cold water, under 36 °F (2 °C) on average around 1970. Normally, bacteria decaying

5846-545: Was later riven , creating one of the deepest rifts in the world. The lake lies in this long-extinct Mesoproterozoic rift valley , the Midcontinent Rift . Magma was injected between layers of sedimentary rock , forming diabase sills . This hard diabase protects the layers of sedimentary rock below, forming the flat-topped mesas in the Thunder Bay area. Amethyst formed in some of the cavities created by

5925-493: Was launched August 17, 1907, and was lost on her second voyage hauling iron ore from Superior, Wisconsin, to Buffalo, New York , with the sole survivor among her 23 crew being Charles G. Pitz. In 1918 the last warships to sink in the Great Lakes, French minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles , vanished in a Lake Superior storm, perhaps upon striking the uncharted danger of the Superior Shoal in an otherwise deep part of

6004-584: Was met with "a most flattering reception". Through the influence of the Abbé, Henry was received by Marie-Antoinette at the French Court . Though he was a natural raconteur who was used to winning friends with ease, it was a great sadness to Henry for the rest of his days that he was met with nothing other than condescension from the young queen and her court. Henry returned to British North America in 1777 in partnership with Jean-Baptiste Blondeau andtaded at

6083-647: Was particularly active in the Beaver Club, reactivated in 1807, of which he was the senior member and on its creation, the vice-chairman. In 1806, he was one of the principal donators to the building of Nelson's Column, Montreal . In 1812, he was appointed vendue master and King's Auctioneer for the district of Montreal , working in partnership with his nephew Norman Bethune, who lived with him at 14 Rue Saint-Urbain . He remained close to his old friends, and Isaac Todd , who Henry enjoyed teasing, returned again to Montreal from his native Ireland to be close to Henry and McGill . In 1809, Henry had written to Askin , "There

6162-564: Was said to have fathered several children, but only one daughter is recorded. In 1785, having by then returned to society at Montreal , he married Julia Calcutt Kittson (1756–1835), "a woman of considerable personal fortitude". She was a native of Limavady and the widow of an Anglo-Irish army officer, John George Kittson (d. 1779), whose home was in County Cork but had seen considerable service in North America . Mrs Julia Henry

6241-455: Was the godparent with Sir Isaac Brock of William McGillivray 's youngest daughter. It is open to debate whether Julia and Alexander met in Canada , England or Ireland around 1780, but they were the parents of several children, two of whom were born before they were married. Henry was step-father to two Kittsons, and the father of six known children, Lake Superior Lake Superior

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