  Washington Island Washington Island (Michigan) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lake Superior Isle Royale National Park |
| Coordinates | 47°52′30″N89°15′00″W / 47.87500°N 89.25000°W Coordinates: 47°52′30″N89°15′00″W / 47.87500°N 89.25000°W |
| Area | 1 sq mi (2.6 km2) |
| Administration | |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Keweenaw County |
| Township | Eagle Harbor Township |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Washington Island is an uninhabited island in Lake Superior. It is within the boundary of Keweenaw County and Isle Royale National Park, a national park located within the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the westernmost point marked on most maps of the elongated archipelago that makes up this park. However, a small islet called Bottle Island and an even smaller shoal that breaks the lake surface, Rock of Ages, are located further westward.
Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes of North America, is also the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area, and the third largest freshwater lake by volume. The lake is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north, the U.S. state of Minnesota to the west, and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the south. The farthest north and west of the Great Lakes chain, Superior has the highest elevation of all five great lakes and drains into the St. Mary's River.
Keweenaw County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 2,156, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total area, when the waters of Lake Superior are included in the total. The county seat is Eagle River.
Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale and hundreds of adjacent islands, as well as the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. Isle Royale National Park was established on April 3, 1940, then additionally protected from development by wilderness area designation in 1976, and declared a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve in 1980. The park covers 894 square miles (2,320 km2), with 209 square miles (540 km2) of land and 685 square miles (1,770 km2) of surrounding waters. The park's northern boundary lies adjacent to the Canadian Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area along the international border.
Washington Island is approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) long and 0.5 mi (0.80 km) wide. Like the rest of the Isle Royale archipelago, the island is an ancient ridge of basalt oriented from the southwest to the northeast. [1]
Basalt is a mafic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava exposed at or very near the surface of a terrestrial planet or a moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Basalt lava has a low viscosity, due to its low silica content, resulting in rapid lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidification. Flood basalt describes the formation in a series of lava basalt flows.
Washington Island is separated by Grace Harbor from Isle Royale. It has relatively low visitation, with the majority of day trippers being sea kayakers from nearby Windigo Ranger Station. The waters of Lake Superior around Washington Island are notoriously dangerous, however, and inexperienced kayakers are not encouraged to navigate them.
Windigo Ranger Station, or simply Windigo, is a docking and refueling port on Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior, and is a ranger station for Isle Royale National Park.
Many Great Lakes boats and lake freighters have succumbed to the stormy waters that surround Washington Island. The nearby 1908 lighthouse and light tower, Rock of Ages Light, tries to warn boats away from these dangerous waters. The federal government has also constructed a radio beacon tower on Washington Island's eastern tip, facing Isle Royale. [1]
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships.
The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping approximately 2.25 miles (3.62 km) west of Washington Island and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan. It is an active aid to navigation.
Passenger ferry vessels that circumnavigate the Isle Royale archipelago use Grace Harbor as a navigable sound, and pass close by Washington Island. [1]
