Calumet Shoreline

Glacial Lake Chicago when the Calumet Shoreline formed

The Calumet Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan located in the Lake Michigan Basin. It can be clearly seen as a sand ridge along Ridge Road south of Chicago. Closer to the lake from the Calumet Shoreline, there are the Tolleston shorelines and farther from the lake are the Glenwood Shoreline, the Tinley Moraine, and the Valparaiso Moraine. The shoreline is named after the Calumet Region of Northern Indiana.^[1]

Development

The Michigan Lobe of the continental glacier had been stagnant for years, forming the Glenwood Shoreline. Once again, it began a general retreat northwards. The melt waters which formed Glacial Lake Chicago, had more space in which to reside. Then it began to drop. It appears that the outlet to the Illinois River, was cutting downward, keeping pace with the lowering lake. At around 620 feet (190 m), it stopped cutting downward and the lake stabilized.^[2]

Features

The Calumet beach opens into the Chicago outlet, and is 20 feet (6.1 m) or 25 feet (7.6 m) below the Glenwood beach. It stands about 35 feet (11 m) above Lake Michigan at the southern end.^[3] Along much of the east and west shores the beach has been eroded by the lake. Along these shores, it is more than 12 miles (19 km) from the lake. It takes its name from the Calumet River in northwestern Indiana where it is well preserved. On the south shore it is from 1 mile (1.6 km) to 8 miles (13 km) from the lakeshore, continuing as far north on the west shore to near Winnetka.

References

See also

• Ridge Road
• Calumet Region
• Geography of Indiana

-glacial feature from north to south of Lake Michigan

• Glenwood Shoreline
• Calumet Shoreline
• Tolleston Shoreline
• Tinley Moraine
• Valparaiso Moraine
• Kankakee Outwash Plain

Great Lakes of North America Main lakes Erie Huron Michigan Ontario Superior Secondary lakes Nipigon Nipissing St. Clair Simcoe Winnebago Bays and Waterways Detroit River Erie Canal French River Georgian Bay Great Lakes Waterway Green Bay Lake George Lake Kagawong Lake Manitou Lake Nicolet Manitou Passage Mindemoya Lake Munuscong Lake Niagara River Nipigon River North Channel Potagannissing Bay St. Clair River Saint Lawrence River Saint Lawrence Seaway St. Marys River Sault Ste. Marie Canal Soo Locks Straits of Mackinac Trent–Severn Waterway Welland Canal Islands Detroit River Michigan (state) (in Lake Huron, part of Isle Royale National Park) Ontario Historic geology Lake Agassiz Lake Chicago Lake Maumee Mackinac Falls Midcontinent Rift System Niagara Escarpment Wisconsin glaciation Related topics Basin Bays of the Great Lakes Great Lakes region Great Lake ships Lake-effect snow Lake Michigan–Huron Marine protected areas Megalopolis Quebec City–Windsor Corridor Settlements Great Lakes museum and historic ships Lake freighter Tall ships Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes Treaties

Subfields of physical geography Biogeography Climatology / Paleoclimatology Coastal geography Edaphology Geomorphology Glaciology Hydrology / Hydrography Landscape ecology Limnology Meteorology Oceanography Palaeogeography Pedology/Soil science Quaternary science