Geography | |
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Location | Door County, Wisconsin |
Coordinates | 45°17′06″N086°55′11″W / 45.28500°N 86.91972°W Coordinates: 45°17′06″N086°55′11″W / 45.28500°N 86.91972°W |
Adjacent bodies of water | Lake Michigan |
Highest elevation | 581 ft (177.1 m) |
Administration | |
Pilot Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the Town of Washington, in Door County, Wisconsin; it is part of Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. An abandoned lighthouse, the Pilot Island Light, rests on the island, [1] [2] and three shipwrecks rest in the Pilot Island NW Site. Pilot Island lies in the middle of the southern opening of the Porte des Morts passage off the tip of the Door Peninsula.
Pilot Island earned its name due to the use of the island as a "pilot" by sailors going through the dangerous Porte des Morts passage. [3]
The lighthouse started operations in 1858 and continues to this day to be a maritime navigational aid. The island was often foggy and the fog signal would run for long periods of time, with the noise curdling milk and destroying embryos in their eggshells. The fog signal was discontinued in 1962. [4]
Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on Lake Michigan not to have a county seat with the same name. Instead it is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. The dangerous passage, known as Death's Door, contains shipwrecks and was known to Native Americans and early French explorers. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1861. Door County is a popular Upper Midwest vacation destination. It is home to a small Walloon population.
Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and Green Bay between the northern tip of the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin and a group of islands historically known as the Potawatomi Islands and dominated by Washington Island. The name is French and means, literally, "the door of the dead".
The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal is a ship canal connecting Sturgeon Bay with Lake Michigan across the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin. A dredged channel continues through Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay. This combined waterway allows ships to sail between Lake Michigan and Green Bay without traversing the dangerous Porte des Morts strait.
Gills Rock is an unincorporated community located on Highway 42 at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. It is within the town of Liberty Grove and was formerly known as Hedgehog Harbor.
The Raspberry Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the southern part of Raspberry Island, marking the west channel of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield. It was erected in 1862, marking the western channel.
The Plum Island Range Lights are a pair of range lights located on Plum Island in Door County, Wisconsin. They were part of the Plum Island United States Life-Saving Station. Plum Island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The life-saving station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Plum Island is seasonally open to the public for day-time use.
The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin.
Washington Island is an island of the state of Wisconsin situated in Lake Michigan. Lying about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of the tip of the Door Peninsula, it is part of Door County, Wisconsin. The island has a year-round population of 708 people according to the 2010 census. It has a land area of 60.89 km² and comprises over 92 percent of the land area of the town of Washington, as well as all of its population. The unincorporated community of Detroit Harbor is situated on the island. It is the largest in a group of islands that includes Plum, Detroit, Hog, Pilot, Fish, and Rock Islands. These islands form the Town of Washington. Detroit Harbor bay is on the south side of the island. A large part of Washington Island's economy is based on tourism.
Patos Island Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation overlooking the Strait of Georgia at Alden Point on the western tip of Patos Island in the San Juan Islands, San Juan County, Washington, in the United States. The station is the northernmost in the San Juan Islands and marks the division point between the eastern and western passages into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Eagle Harbor Light is an operational lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, in Keweenaw County in the state of Michigan. It sits on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor and is one of several light stations that guide mariners on Lake Superior across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The original lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the present red brick structure, which is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mackinaw Point marks the junction of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Founded in 1889, the Old Mackinac Point Light Station was in operation from 1890 until 1957.
Chile has a large and intricate coastline of 4000 km with myriads of islands, islets, straits, bays, and fjords.
Cana Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the town of Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The Cana Island Light is on the east side of the island. It is possible to walk to Cana Island from the mainland over the tombolo when water levels are low. Tombolo conditions are monitored by a webcam operated by the county parks department. The island is part of the Town of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Door County, Wisconsin. It is intended to provide a comprehensive listing of entries in the National Register of Historic Places that are located in Door County, Wisconsin. The locations of National Register properties for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below may be seen in a map.
Round Island Passage Light is an automated, unmanned lighthouse located in the Round Island Channel in the Straits of Mackinac, Michigan. The channel is a branch of Lake Huron.
The Pilot Island NW Site is the site of three shipwrecks on the northwest side of Pilot Island in Door County, Wisconsin. The shipwrecks lie in Lake Michigan under 20 to 50 feet of water; buoys placed by the Wisconsin Historical Society mark their locations. The first ship, the Forest, sank at a reef on Pilot Island on October 28, 1891, while attempting to pass through Porte des Morts. In 1892, the J.E. Gilmore sank at the site while navigating the passage on October 17. The third ship, the A.P. Nichols, sank at the site in a storm on October 28 of the same year. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1992.
The Louisiana was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Washington, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. In 1992 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Les Hanois Lighthouse was constructed between 1860 and 1862 to a design by James Walker, and was first lit on 8 December 1862. It is sited on the rock known as Le Biseau, or Le Bisé, part of the reef Les Hanois one mile north west of Pleinmont where the Trinity House cottages were built. It was erected in response to an increasing number of shipwrecks on the treacherous rocks off the western coast of Guernsey.
The Wisconsin Islands Wilderness is a 29-acre (12 ha) wilderness area located in Door County in northeastern Wisconsin. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas in the United States. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the wilderness area is composed of three islands in Lake Michigan.
Detroit Harbor is a bay between the southern end of Washington Island, and the northern end of Detroit Island. It is located in Washington, Door County, Wisconsin. An unincorporated community also named Detroit Harbor is found on the northern side of the bay. There are three islands inside of the bay, Snake Island, Big Susie Island, and Little Susie Island. The bay is dredged on either side to allow boats through, forming the East and West channels. Both car and passenger ferries to Washington Island go through Detroit Harbor, before they dock. The United States Coast Guard maintains operations in Detroit Harbor through the Washington Island Station. Detroit Harbor is designated as a Wisconsin State Natural Area by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.