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86-555: The expedition was the first detailed and scientific survey of the region between Lake Superior and the southern passes of the Rockies in British North America . The expedition provided a better understanding of the remote western frontier and the new observations and knowledge were significant for the expansion into and development of the western prairies by European settlers. The expedition's reports impacted changes in

172-479: A growing population of European settlers. The large presence of European settlers in the west made them a large economic power and created conflict with Indigenous communities in the region. The changes in the economy as a result of this expansion were very rapid and had affected the Metis and Indigenous people as they experienced a shift in their economic, political and cultural control over their communities. Within

258-689: A post which he held for two years. At the colonial office he had great influence in furthering the cause of natural science, particularly in connection with equipment of the Palliser Expedition in Canada (for his efforts, the Ball Range in the Canadian Rockies was named after him), and with William Jackson Hooker 's efforts to obtain a systematic knowledge of the colonial floras. In 1858 Ball stood for County Limerick , but

344-467: 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

430-482: 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

516-623: A war with Russia, the voice of the people found expression in Ball who assured the government that justification of the Crimean war was vast, high and noble: 'the maintenance in civilised society of the principles of right and justice'. In the British House of Commons he attracted Lord Palmerston 's attention by his abilities, and in 1855 was made Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies ,

602-716: 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

688-408: 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

774-423: 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

860-500: 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

946-537: 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

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1032-449: 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

1118-596: 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

1204-465: Is through the prairies and extends across the American border, and has become known as Palliser's triangle . They reported to the government that this region was too arid for subsistence agriculture , a finding that was overruled by later officials. That was much to the detriment of those who tried to farm there, particularly when homesteading was encouraged by government grants of land From surveying

1290-852: The Blackfoot and Northern Peigan First Nations. In 1859, the expedition mapped the confluence of the Red Deer River and South Saskatchewan River, as well as the Cypress Hills , before turning again west. Hector crossed the Rockies through the Howse Pass , and tried unsuccessfully to push through to the Pacific Coast. Palliser and Sullivan crossed the mountains through the North Kootenay Pass and continued down

1376-575: The British government to learn more about the west. Both the Canadian and British governments’ interest in the region and some of these possible opportunities of the land were responsible for their investment and involvement in further research and expeditions. The purpose of the Palliser expedition was to explore three main areas: the land between Lake Superior and the Red River Colony ,

1462-707: 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

1548-863: The Kootenay River to Fort Colville , which by then was on American soil as a result of the Oregon Treaty of 1846 and placement of the boundary at the 49th parallel . Sullivan explored the Columbia River and its tributaries as far west as the Okanogan Valley , while Palliser crossed over land to Midway, BC . Unable to find passes to the Pacific north of the 49th parallel, they reunited with Hector in Fort Colvile . From there, they travelled 598 miles (962 km) downstream on

1634-768: 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,

1720-724: The Saskatchewan River that had long been used by fur traders. Palliser became aware of the existence of other routes, primarily used by indigenous communities. In 1848, Palliser met James Sinclair , a Métis explorer with the HBC, who told Palliser about another pass which was off the route from the Red River Colony to the Rocky Mountains and along the United States border. In 1856, Palliser's interest in

1806-781: 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

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1892-502: 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

1978-530: The 1870s, the foundation of the economy in western Canada was broken down with the isolation and separation from the rest of Canada, and systems of power among Indigenous communities. The disappearance of the buffalo led to the Indigenous communities becoming more reliant on European settlers and the government as they lost their main resource of economic dependency and began selling their land and moving on to reserves. Lake Superior Lake Superior

2064-521: The British government. Thomas Devine created the first map of British North America's West in 1857, which showed the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company . The map described the land and its potential rather than focusing on the physical features of the landscape, and reflected the expansionist views of the west at the time. Expeditions such as Palliser 's and Henry Youle Hind 's were direct results of

2150-607: The Columbia River to Fort Vancouver and the Pacific Coast, then north to Fort Victoria . The expedition returned to the East Coast by ship through San Francisco and Panama (where they had to go overland to reach a ship to travel in the Atlantic), then to Montreal . From there, they finally sailed back to Liverpool . The science that was used in this expedition in the surveying of the land and information that

2236-484: The HBC. At Red River Palliser employed a number of Métis guides to assist on the trip west. These guides also acted as interpreters, scouts and armed escorts. In June 1857, the party explored White Fish River to determine the river connections and potential usage of the waterways along with the help of three local Ojibwas . They travelled from Thunder Bay up the Kaministiquia River , climbed Mountain Portage, stopped at

2322-526: 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

2408-612: 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

2494-558: 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

2580-688: The Priest's Portage and crossed nine other portages. They continued via the Red River and across the prairies. They met Charles W. Iddings, an American surveyor, along the United States border. The expedition continued through Turtle Mountain , Fort Ellice , Roche Percée , along the South Saskatchewan River to Fort Carlton , then along the North Saskatchewan River , where they spent the winter of 1857/1858. In

2666-611: The Swiss glaciers to scientific periodicals. In 1846 Ball was made an assistant poor-law commissioner , but resigned in 1847, and in 1848 stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for Sligo . In 1849 he was appointed second poor-law commissioner, but resigned in 1852 and successfully contested the County Carlow constituency in the Whig interest. In 1854, while grave doubts were raised in well-informed quarters about entering

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2752-483: 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

2838-628: 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

2924-551: 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

3010-623: 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

3096-407: The dominant perception leading up to 1856, depicted the region as a remote and barren wasteland, an excessively rugged wilderness that had little prospect for economically useful resources or settlement. With the increasing economic changes of the mid-19th century, the region began to be viewed differently, from the dominant landscapes to the growing potential for economic opportunities. This other view

3182-421: The earliest visionaries of western Canada was Arthur Dobbs , who saw the agricultural potential and fertile soils in the mid-18th century. Even with little information or supporting evidence regarding the land's potential, visions of the west were influential in portraying British North America as an untouched and unsettled wilderness full of opportunity. In the 1850s, the image of the west was influenced largely by

3268-463: The economy, settlement, transportation, Indigenous communities and the campaign for expansionism in Canada. The party consisted of: As well, local guides and interpreters traveled with the party and assisted it in its work. Such was Maskepetoon , later chief of a small Cree band. "In 1857 he was engaged by John Palliser’s expedition to act as guide from the Qu’Appelle lakes (near Fort Qu’Appelle) to

3354-549: The elbow of the South Saskatchewan River (near Elbow); from the expedition’s members he acquired the name Nichiwa , the Cree term for 'friend'." With little information about the western prairies and the frontiers of European settlement in British North America, the basis of public knowledge prior to the expedition was largely speculation. There were two main views of the west at the time; one view, which had been

3440-499: The expansionist campaign. With the increasing frequency of expeditions to the west, exploring the North West became more popular, specifically among young British men interested in experiencing the wilderness before it was taken over by settlers. The western prairies had only been known by the few small Indigenous communities that lived there and the few British fur traders and missionaries, who themselves did not know much about

3526-507: The expedition, John Ball wanted a neutral perspective of the company's route to determine if it could be reliably used by travellers and for transporting goods as a connecting route to Canada. Palliser and his party also examined a route called White Fish River to see where the Kaministikwia River connected to the main river and determine if it could be used for transportation purposes or as another possible pass from Canada to

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3612-620: The expedition, Palliser presented his report to the British Parliament in 1863. A comprehensive map of the surveyed areas was published in 1865. They concluded that transport through American territory was more feasible. While they found several passes suitable for crossing the Rocky Mountains, they were prevented from proceeding to the Pacific by mountains further west. From this better understanding and supported evidence of promising land and opportunities, work on expanding

3698-494: The government to help fund some of them, after he was elected as a member of the society on November 24, 1856. Through the society, the Expedition Committee approved Palliser's proposal, but recommended that the expedition include the help of professional scientists who were able to conduct scientific research that could be used to better understand the land, as Palliser himself did not have any formal training. Under

3784-501: The group of men began the expedition. They sailed from Sault Ste Marie by steamship across Lake Superior and Lake Huron . They continued by canoes and by June 12 they had almost reached Isle Royale and continued through Thunder Bay , across the Kaministikwia River and into Fort William , the starting point of the routes they had set out to explore; the first stretch of land was between Lake Superior and Red River. The expedition continued with horses and carts, with supplies provided by

3870-428: 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

3956-621: 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

4042-418: 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 ,

4128-463: 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

4214-429: The land between the Red River Colony and the Rocky Mountains , and the land beyond the Rocky Mountains towards the Pacific Ocean along the continent's western coast. The route between Lake Superior and Red River connected trading posts and was used by the Hudson's Bay Company for some travel. The route had been used frequently by the HBC for trading furs by canoe before 1821. While the pass had not been originally part of

4300-426: The land by other explorers and scientists in recent years. They looked at existing agricultural development in the soil and the kinds of vegetation being grown in some regions. Two of the main areas that were discovered on the expedition were the stretch of land which is known now as the fertile belt for the prosperous soil between Red River and the Saskatchewan River Valley and the Rockies. The second expanse of land

4386-431: The land, large amounts of fertile land were found which contributed to the change from an economy built around fur-trading to agriculture. The knowledge and plans for western British North America became more clear after Palliser and Hind's expeditions, with the detailed records and observations they were able to create a more accurate representation and understanding of the west. After three years of publishing details of

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4472-431: The land. Some of the fur traders and explorers who had been through the area had collected and recorded information and maps; however, this information was often private and not easily accessible by the general public. In order to support the expansionists' claims of the promises that the west held, promising land needed to be found and publicly documented. Palliser and Hind's expeditions were results of increasing pressure by

4558-450: The landscape of western British North America in its topography and the differences in the atmosphere . The party recorded longitude and latitude points, altitudes , chronometer rates, variations of the compass , collected different types of plants, recorded measures of the rivers, and observed the various geographical terrains and characteristics of the landscapes. The measurements were compared to previous information and recording of

4644-446: 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

4730-407: 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

4816-468: 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

4902-453: 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

4988-976: 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

5074-514: 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

5160-500: 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

5246-401: 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

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5332-463: The prairies. Palliser had seen major waterways facilitating transportation in Mississippi and Missouri and saw the potential for connecting the Red River Colony to Canada. In collecting accurate and detailed information about the land the party was travelling through, they recorded the different landscapes and terrains from bodies of water to forests and mountains. While some explorers had travelled from Red River out west, many followed routes along

5418-428: The recommendation of John Ball , who was the parliamentary under-secretary of state for the colonies during 1856, the British government provided funding towards the expedition of £5,000. Given the government's interest in the same region, they accepted the proposal and provided funding and support for the expedition. The government's involvement was a recognition of the desire and need for development and expansion in

5504-401: 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

5590-431: The removal of natural barriers to navigation between the Great Lakes. Overfishing has also been a factor in the decline of fish populations. John Ball (naturalist) John Ball (20 August 1818 – 21 October 1889) was an Irish politician, naturalist and Alpine traveller. Ball was born in Dublin , the eldest son of Nicholas Ball , judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) and his wife Jane Sherlock. He

5676-489: 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

5762-431: The spring they marched west, and searched for mountain crossings west of modern-day Irricana . Palliser and Sullivan mapped the North Kananaskis Pass and North Kootenay Pass before returning to Fort Edmonton for the winter. Hector crossed the Vermilion Pass and discovered the Kicking Horse Pass . During the winter, Palliser, Captain Arthur Brisco and William Roland Mitchell went south to Rocky Mountain House to meet

5848-413: 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

5934-399: 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

6020-402: 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

6106-403: 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

6192-828: 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

6278-545: 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

6364-494: The west, settlement and connecting Canada to the west through additions to transportation. One of the passes that that party explored on their expedition was later used for transportation purposes, as the Canadian Pacific Railway built through part of it. The opportunities that the land provided became a priority. In connecting the west with Canada, by 1870 agriculture was becoming the main focus and resource in

6450-446: The west. While the expedition started out, in Palliser's vision, as a one-man expedition exploring the west, it quickly became a legitimate, carefully organized and well-funded expedition through connections to influential and authoritative people and organizations. John Ball helped organize the group of men to accompany Palliser on the expedition. The men that made up the expedition were trained scientists of various fields. James Hector

6536-496: The western prairies initiated his plan to explore western Canada along the American border on a formal expedition. His interest in some of these alternative routes became an idea for a project that could be used to survey the land and provide information about the uncharted region. His project was proposed to the Royal Geographical Society , which was involved in coordinating research expeditions and worked with

6622-437: The western prairies, though trading fur continued to be part of the economy. Palliser and Hind's expeditions and the research they conducted and the information that they contributed led to the western prairies being divided into regions based on the geography , climate , soil and agricultural potential. The transition in the economic sectors from fur trading to agricultural created more development in western Canada , with

6708-648: 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

6794-483: Was a geologist , naturalist and physician. Other members of the British party were Eugène Bourgeau , who had made many contributions in botanical work; Thomas Wright Blakiston , a geographer and magnetical observer; and John W. Sullivan , a mathematician and sextant observer, who was also the secretary for the expedition and responsible for astronomical observations. Palliser, Hector, Bourgeau, and Sullivan sailed for New York on 16 May 1857. In May 1857, Palliser and

6880-406: 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

6966-481: Was defeated, and he then gave up politics and devoted himself to natural history. He was the first president of the Alpine Club (founded 1857), and it is for his work as an alpinist that he is chiefly remembered. His well-known Alpine Guide (London, 1863–1868) was the result of innumerable climbs and journeys and of careful observation recorded in a clear and often entertaining style. Among his accomplishments, he

7052-549: Was educated at Oscott College near Birmingham , and at Christ's College, Cambridge , where he was 41st Wrangler but as a Roman Catholic could not be admitted to a BA degree. He showed in his early years a taste for natural science, particularly botany ; and after leaving Cambridge he travelled in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe and North Africa, studying his favourite pursuits, and contributing papers on botany and

7138-439: Was gathered was significant in the types of agriculture that could be grown and opportunities for settlement and transportation. The expedition collected and filed astronomical , meteorological , geological and magnetic data, described the fauna and flora of the lands crossed, as well as considerations regarding settlement and transportation. The research conducted on the expeditions by Hind and Palliser began to redefine

7224-545: 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

7310-493: 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

7396-402: Was the expansionist view, which became popular in 1856 and 1857 and viewed the uncharted territory in the west as a "promised land" with many possibilities for agricultural prosperity. With the expansionist view and the potential in the land, the western prairies began to also be seen as a place to settle and live as the barren and harsh wilderness was portrayed as a visionary countryside. One of

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