The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the east-central interior of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. The five lakes are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and they are in general on or near the Canada–United States border. Hydrologically, Michigan and Huron are a single body of water joined at the Straits of Mackinac. The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among the lakes.
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest 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 the west and Wisconsin and Michigan 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.
Mecosta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 39,714. The county seat is Big Rapids.
Berrien County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located at the southwest corner of the state's Lower Peninsula, located on the shore of Lake Michigan and sharing a land border with Indiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 154,316. The county seat is St. Joseph.
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Bay County. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bay City metropolitican statistical area, which is conterminous with Bay County as part of the larger Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area.
St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about 90 miles (140 km) east-northeast of Chicago. It is home of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Newberg Township is a civil township of Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,632 at the 2010 census.
The St. Joseph River is an 86.1-mile-long (138.6 km) tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States, with headwater tributaries rising in southern Michigan. It drains a primarily rural farming region in the watershed of Lake Erie.
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.
The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Chippewa.
The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of Metro Detroit. The region is also branded as the Blue Water Area.
Leland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Leelanau County, part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula of the state. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 410. From 1883 to 2004, Leland was the county seat of Leelanau County, which has since moved to Suttons Bay Township.
Interlochen is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located within Green Lake Township, and is home to a post office operating with ZIP Code 49643.
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan, is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northernmost 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.
The Boardman River, also known as the Ottaway River or the Boardman–Ottaway River, is a 28.2-mile-long (45.4 km) river in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It rises in western Kalkaska County, and flows west and north through Grand Traverse County to end in downtown Traverse City at the Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. The river's watershed drains an area of 295 square miles (760 km2) through a combined 130 miles (210 km) of river and tributaries. Additionally, the Boardman River is considered one of the top ten trout streams in Michigan.
Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, comprises Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and Newton counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census, Northwest Indiana has a population of 831,080 and is the state's second largest urban area after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. It is also the home of the Indiana Dunes, parts of which have been preserved through conservation efforts. The town of Ogden Dunes houses the Hour Glass, a museum showcasing the ecological and conservation efforts of O. D. Frank.
Lake Duluth was a proglacial lake that formed in the Lake Superior drainage basin as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated. The oldest existing shorelines were formed after retreat from the Greatlakean advance, sometime around 11,000 years B.P. Lake Duluth formed at the western end of the Lake Superior basin. Lake Duluth overflowed south through outlets in Minnesota and Wisconsin at an elevation of around 331 m above sea level.
Torch Lake is a lake in the Northern Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. At 19 miles (31 km) long, is Michigan's longest inland lake, and at approximately 29.3 mi2 (76 km2), it is Michigan's second largest inland lake, after Houghton Lake. It has a maximum depth of 310 feet (94 m) and an average depth of 111 feet (34 m), making it Michigan's deepest inland lake, as well as the state's largest by volume.
The Shiawassee River in the U.S. state of Michigan drains an area of 1,201 square miles (3,110 km2) within Oakland, Genesee, Livingston, Shiawassee, Midland and Saginaw counties. It flows in a generally northerly direction for approximately 110 miles (180 km) from its source to its confluence with the Tittabawassee River creating the Saginaw River, which drains into Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron.
