Location of Michigan within the United States |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Major islands | Beaver, Drummond, Grosse Ile, Harsens, Isle Royale, Mackinac |
| Country | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
The following is a list of islands of Michigan. Michigan has the second longest coastline of any state after Alaska. Being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior—Michigan also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds, as well as innumerable rivers, that may contain their own islands included in this list. The majority of the islands are within the Great Lakes. Other islands can also be found within other waterways of the Great Lake system, including Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River, Detroit River, and St. Marys River.
The largest of all the islands is Isle Royale in Lake Superior, which, in addition to its waters and other surrounding islands, is organized as Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale itself is 206 square miles (530 km2). The most populated island is Grosse Ile with approximately 10,000 residents, located in the Detroit River about 10 miles (16 km) south of Detroit. The majority of Michigan's islands are uninhabited and very small. Some of these otherwise unusable islands have been used for the large number of Michigan's lighthouses to aid in shipping throughout the Great Lakes, while others have been set aside as nature reserves. Many islands in Michigan have the same name, even some that are in the same municipality and body of water, such as Gull, Long, or Round islands.
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Only Monroe County has territory in the westernmost portion of Lake Erie. The islands in the southern portion of the county are part of the North Maumee Bay Archeological District, in which Turtle Island is the only island in the state of Michigan that is shared by another state. This remote island is cut in half and shared with Ohio. While not distinct named islands in their own right, Sterling State Park and Pointe Mouillee are situated on several islands.
| Island | Municipality | County | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Point Shoal[1] | Berlin Township | Monroe | |
| Gard Island[2] | Erie Township | Monroe | |
| Indian Island[3] | Erie Township | Monroe | |
| North Cape[4] | Erie Township | Monroe | |
| Pointe Mouillee[5] | Berlin Township | Monroe | |
| Smiths Island[6] | Monroe | Monroe | |
| Sterling State Park[7] | Frenchtown Township | Monroe | |
| Turtle Island[8] | Erie Township | Monroe |
Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes (after Lake Superior) with a surface area of 23,010 square miles (59,600 km2). Michigan is the only U.S. state to border Lake Huron, while the portion of the lake on the other side of the international border belongs to the Canadian province of Ontario. The vast majority of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron are centered around Drummond Island in the northernmost portion of the state's lake territory. Drummond Island is the largest of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron and is the second largest Michigan island after Lake Superior's Isle Royale. Another large group of islands is the Les Cheneaux Islands archipelago, which itself contains dozens of small islands. Many of the lake's islands are very small and uninhabited.
As the most popular tourist destination in the state, Mackinac Island is the most well known of Lake Huron's islands. Drummond Island is the most populous of Michigan's islands in Lake Huron, with a population of 992 at the 2000 census. While Mackinac Island had a population of only 553, there are thousands more seasonal workers and tourists during the summer months.
Michigan only has islands in Lake Michigan in the northern portion of the lake in Green Bay, Big Bay de Noc, Little Bay de Noc, and along the Niagara Escarpment. Interestingly, there are no islands in the southern half of Lake Michigan. The largest and most populated of Michigan's islands in Lake Michigan is Beaver Island at 55.8 square miles (145 km2) and 551 residents. Some of the smaller islands surrounding Beaver Island are part of the larger Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, and the coastline is sparsely populated. At 206 square miles (530 km2), Isle Royale is the largest Michigan island and is the center of Isle Royale National Park, which itself contains over 450 islands. The following is a list of islands in Lake Superior that are not part of Isle Royale National Park. For those islands, see the list of islands in Isle Royale National Park.
Lake St. Clair connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie through the St. Clair River in the north and the Detroit River in the south. At 430 square miles (1,100 km2), it is one of the largest non-Great Lakes in the United States, but it only contains a small number of islands near the mouth of the St. Clair River, where all of the following islands are located. The largest of these islands is Harsens Island, and all the islands are in Clay Township in St. Clair County.
| Island | Municipality | County | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruckner Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Club Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Dickinson Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Green Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Gull Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Harsens Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| McDonald Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Middle Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Muscamoot Ridge | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| North Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Russell Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Sand Island | Clay Township | St. Clair | |
| Strawberry Island | Clay Township | St. Clair |
The Detroit River runs for 32 miles (51 km) and connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. For its entire length, it carries the international border between the United States and Canada, and some islands belong to Ontario. All islands on the American side belong to Wayne County.
Most of the islands are very small and uninhabited, and many of these islands around the southern portion of the river serve as wildlife refuges as part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The largest and most populous island is Grosse Ile at 9.0 square miles (23 km2) and a population of around 10,000. Most of the islands are around and closely connected to Grosse Ile. The city of Gibraltar also occupies several islands in the southern portion of the river. Some of the islands have also been geologically modified throughout the industrialization of the area. Stony Island and Grassy Island have been largely formed from dredged sediments, and Zug Island and Elizabeth Park were once connected to the mainland.
The St. Marys River connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron at the easternmost point of the Upper Peninsula. It carries the international border throughout its length, and some of the islands belong to neighboring Ontario. The largest of Michigan's islands in the river are Sugar Island and Neebish Island. Wider portions of the river are designated as Lake George, Lake Nicolet, and the Munuscong Lake. The whole length of the Michigan portion of the river is part of Chippewa County.
Michigan has numerous inland lakes and rivers that also contain their own islands. The following also lists the body of water in which these islands are located. Five islands below (highlighted in green) are actually islands within an island; they are contained within inland lakes in Isle Royale.
Grand Lake is a large 8.8 square miles (23 km2) lake in Presque Isle County. While it is not the largest inland lake in Michigan, it does contain the most inland islands. At its shortest distance, it is located less than one mile (0.6 km) from Lake Huron, but the two are not connected. Grand Lake contains 14 islands, of which Grand Island is by far the largest.
| Island | Municipality | County | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Island | Krakow Township | Presque Isle | |
| Applegate Island | Krakow Township | Presque Isle | |
| Bear Island | Krakow Township | Presque Isle | |
| Brown Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Burnt Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Cedar Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Crescent Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Grand Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Horseshoe Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Indian Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Macombers Island | Krakow / Presque Isle | Presque Isle | |
| Round Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Tanglewood Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle | |
| Three Sisters Island | Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle |
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