Field Trip 1: The Great Lakes Basin

MTU - SMOEKorean Teacher’s Program (KTP) 2004

July 25 ~ July 29, 2004

Dr. Jaebong Jeong

Research Scientist/EngineerAcademic Coordinator for KTP

Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center & Institute of Material Processing

Michigan Technological University1400 Townsend DriveHoughton, MI 49931

jjeong@mtu.edu906) 487-2887

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Content: Technical Sessions of the Great Lakes Basin Field Trip

Lab 1. Lake Geology

1. Genealogy of the Great Lakes: Introduction, environments, and economy of the Great Lakes at Buffalo, NY (25th).

2. Structural Geology and Ecosystem of the Great Lakes: Native and exotic species of fish and flora & environmental concerns with the unique lake limnology at Niagara Falls, NY & ON, Canada (26th).

3. Local Weather and Agricultures: Ontario wineries at ON, Canada (26th).

Ses 1. Teaching Science Through Industry

4. History of American Industry and Transportation: Witness the innovation of manufacturing in America (Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village) at Dearborn, MI (27th).

5. History and Culture of the Great Lakes Region: Explorers vs. Tribes at Mackinac bridge & Island at St. Ignace, MI (28th).

Lab 3. Ecosystem

6. Ecology of the Great Lakes Region: Grovel warming effects on Great Lakes Ecosystem (Tahquamenon Falls) at Newberry, MI (29th).

7. Geological Formation and Shoreline Geology of the Great Lakes: Formation of the Great Lakes (Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore) at Munising, MI (29th).

8. General Information of Keweenaw Peninsula (Michigan Tech.): The copper country at Marquette and Houghton, MI (29th).

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Technical Session 1. Genealogy of the Great Lakes

1. Introduction to the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes--Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario--and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on Earth. The Great Lakes, in their current state, are actually one of the youngest natural features on the North American continent. Covering more than 94,000 square miles and draining more than twice as much land, these Freshwater Seas hold an estimated 6 quadrillion gallons of water, about 1/5 of the world's fresh surface water supply and 9/10 of the U.S. supply.

The Great Lakes watershed includes part or all of eight U.S. states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York) and the Canadian province of Ontario. Today, more than 33 million people inhabit this drainage basin: more than one-tenth of the population of the United States and one-quarter of the population of Canada.

The St. Lawrence River and Seaway is of vital geographic and economic importance to the Great Lakes system, connecting the lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and providing navigation to deep-draft ocean vessels. Approximately 800 miles (1,287 km) long, the St. Lawrence River can be divided into three broad sections: the freshwater river, which extends from Lake Ontario to just outside the city of Quebec; the St. Lawrence estuary, which extends from Quebec to Anticosti Island; and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Lawrence River drops 226 feet between Lake Ontario and Montreal, Canada. To allow vessels to pass through the river and in and out of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, a massive American-Canadian navigational project, was begun in 1954 and completed in 1959. The Seaway created the final link in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, connecting Duluth, Minnesota, some 2,340 miles (3,766 km) away, with the head of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, through a complex system of lakes, rivers, deepened channels, locks, and canals.

2. Environments of the Great Lakes

The environment of the Great Lakes region rich agricultural land, hundreds of tributaries and thousands of smaller lakes, and extensive mineral deposits. Environmental issue of concern ranges from threats to divert water out of the Great Lakes basin to the introduction of nonindigeous invasive species and airborne toxics into the basin. Protection of water quality and sustainable development remain long-term goals. The unique ecosystem of the Great Lakes basin provides professional development of science teachers.

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3. Economy of the Great Lakes Region

The binominal Great Lakes region is North America's industrial heartland, and also supports a multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation and tourism industry, a strong maritime transportation system, and a diverse and extensive agricultural base. The primary economic activities in the region today are agriculture, industrial manufacturing, steel production, shipping, commercial and sport fisheries, and recreation and tourism.

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Technical Session 2. Structural Geology & Ecosystem of the Great Lakes

1. Structural Geology of the Great Lakes Basin

The Great Lakes basin is home to more than 10% the population of the United States and 25% of the population of Canada. The lakes contain about 23,000 km3 of water, covering a total area of 244,000 km2 (Korea Peninsula: 222000 Km2). The lakes are the largest system of fresh, surface water on earth, containing roughly 18 percent of the world supply.

Lake Superior Not only is Lake Superior the largest of the Great

Lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world. With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes. Most of the Superior basin is sparsely populated, and heavily forested, with little agriculture because of a cool climate and poor soils. Lake Michigan (only in U.S.A.)

Lake Michigan, the second largest Great Lake, is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States. Averaging 279 feet in depth, the lake reaches 925 feet at its deepest point. The lake's northern tier is in the colder, less developed upper Great Lakes region, while its more temperate southern basin contains the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas. Lake Michigan is hydrologically inseparable from Lake Huron, joined by the wide Straits of Mackinac.

Lake Huron Lake Huron is the third largest of the lakes by volume. The Huron lakeshore is

characterized by shallow, sandy beaches and the rocky shores of Georgian Bay. An average depth of the lake is 195 feet (approximately 750 feet, maximum). The Saginaw River basin is intensively farmed and contains the Flint and Saginaw-Bay City metropolitan areas.

Lake Erie Lake Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes in volume (119 cubic miles) and is

exposed to the greatest effects from urbanization and agriculture. The average depth of Lake Erie is only about 62 feet (210 feet, maximum). It therefore warms rapidly in the spring and summer, and frequently freezes over in winter. Because of its fertile soils, the basin is intensively farmed and is the most densely populated of the five lake basins.

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Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is similar to Lake Erie in length and breadth (193 miles by 53

miles) with its greater average depth (approximately 283 feet). Major urban industrial centers, such as Hamilton and Toronto, are located on its shore. The U.S. shore is less urbanized and is not intensively farmed.

2. Niagara Falls

The story of the fall began 600 million years ago, and the first humans arrived in Niagara Region almost 12,000 years ago, just in time to witness the birth of the Falls. The land was different then, consisting of tundra and spruce forest. During this time (the Palaeo-Indian Period, which lasted until 9,000 years ago), Niagara was inhabited by the Clovis people. These nomadic hunters likely camped along the old Lake Erie shoreline, living in simple, tiny dwellings. They left little to mark their tenure except chipped stones. These large, fluted projectile points were likely to fell the caribou, mastodons, moose and elk that roamed the land.

The falls lie between two of the Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario, both of which (like the other 3 Great Lakes) were created by glaciers from the last ice age. Niagara Falls is the second largest falls in the world next to Victoria Falls in southern Africa. Niagara Falls is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world. 20% of the world's fresh water is found in the Great Lakes and much of it finds it way to the falls. Water flows over the edge at a rate of 35 million gallons per minute. Over half of this volume is converted into power by both the United States and Canada. The majority of the power is diverted during the night in order to preserve the majestic view of the falls during the peak tourist hours of daylight. Presently Canada generates approximately 70% of its electricity by hydropower. 2. Ecosystem of the Great Lakes

Water levels on the Great LakesWater levels are part of the ebb and flow of

nature.The difference between the amount of water coming into a lake and the amount going out is the determining factor in whether the water level will rise, fall or remain stable. When several months of above-average precipitation occur with cooler, cloudy conditions that cause less evaporation, the levels gradually rise. Likewise, prolonged periods of lower-than-average precipitation and warmer temperatures typically result in lowering of water levels. The recent decline of Great Lakes' water levels, now at lows not seen since the mid-1960s, is due mostly to evaporation during the warmer-than-usual temperatures of the past three years, a series of mild winters, and below-average snowpack in the Lake Superior basin. Because the major factors affecting the water supply to the lakes--precipitation, evaporation and runoff--cannot be controlled or accurately predicted for more than a few weeks into the

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future, the influence of man-made regulation of lake levels is very limited. Nature has most of the control, adding water through snow and rain, and taking it away through evaporation.

The fisheryThe Great Lakes fishery consists of a blend of native

and introduced species, some of which are regularly restocked. Common catches include lake trout, salmon, walleye, perch, white fish, small mouth bass, steelhead and brown trout. The greatest commercial fishing harvests were recorded in 1889 and 1899 at about 147 million pounds (67,000 metric tons). Since then, the fishery has been threatened on three fronts: overfishing, pollution and non-native invasive species. Recent years have seen a major resurgence as walleye fisheries recover in Lake Erie, trout populations become more self-sustaining in Lake Superior, and new salmon fisheries develop in Lake Ontario. Fishery researchers estimate that 25 percent to 40 percent of the salmon and trout populations in lakes Michigan, Huron and Ontario are now self-reproducing, crediting improved habitat, water quality and stream conditions.

Non-native invasive speciesIf you live on the Great Lakes or in a similar

coastal area, you've no doubt heard of zebra mussels or sea lamprey. Chances are you've also seen patches of purple loosestrife growing in your community or on the side of a local highway. You might not have recognized this attractive flowering plant as a non-native species, but it is. Although pretty to look at, these purple stalks are choking out native plant species by overtaking and altering their habitat.

These are just three of the more than 140 nonindigenous, or invasive, species that have become established in and around the Great Lakes since the 1800s. In fact, due in large part to increases in the volume of shipping traffic, the introduction of new "exotic" species has increased dramatically over the past 50 years. More than 87 nonindigenous aquatic species have been accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes in the 20th Century alone. Once introduced, invasive species must be managed and controlled, as they are virtually impossible to eradicate.

While many non-native species have no serious ecological impact, the introduction of a single key species can, as in the example of the sea lamprey, cause a sudden and dramatic shift in the entire ecosystem-structure. New species can significantly change the interactions between existing species (and between those species and their non-living environment), creating ecosystems that are unstable and unpredictable.

Great Lakes native flora

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Flora was once known as the Roman goddess of flowers, though today we use the term to refer to plant life, including trees. We'll be focusing on vascular plants, which have specialized supporting and water-conducting tissue called xylem and phloem, and typically possess roots, stems and leaves. Nonvascular plants, such as mosses, lack an internal conducting system for water and nutrients, so they depend on their immediate surroundings for moisture.

Some common species of the Great Lakes region are White pine (Pinus strobus), Blue violet (Viola sororia), and White oak (Quercus alba). The white pine, Michigan's state tree, is considered to be the largest conifer in the northeastern United States. The needles are soft, bluish-green to silver green in color and are regularly arranged in bundles of five. The eastern white pine forests in the lower peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin were clear-cut for lumber from 1850 to 1890; standing over 200 feet (60 meters) tall, each tree could provide 6,000 board feet (10 cubic meters) of lumber. However, reforestation efforts are beginning the slow regrowth of this much-loved tree. The blue violet can be found throughout the entire Great Lakes basin, and is

Minnesota's and Illinois' state flower. The violet's colors can vary, ranging from blue to yellow, white, lilac and even green! The white oak, Illinois’ state tree, is a flowering angiosperm that can grow to be 100 feet tall, three feet wide, and can live to be 400

years old! The tree has grayish-white bark, which gives its name, and green-brown acorns. In the fall, the leaves will turn a variety of colors including red, gold, yellow, or purple.

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Technical Session 3. Local Weather and Agricultures (Ontario wineries)

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The wine’s character comes from the unique environment of the wine region it self. As they say, its not who you know it’s where you grow. The taste and quality of wine are determined by three key factors: the location and climate, the weather, and the soils.

1. Location

Wine-producing grapes only grow in two geographical belts around the globe-one just north of the equator, and one a little bit south of it. These are only areas with the right mixture of sun, rain, and temperature. Ontario wine regions are right in the middle of the northern grape-growing belt-between 41o and 44o north, which are just south of the famous Bordeaux Region in France, and parallel with northern California wine regions.

2. Weather

To grow the perfect grape you need a long, warm summer and a dry, sunny autumn. The grapes need to ripen slowly so they can develop a good balance between acids and sugars. A well-ripened grape produces wines with a nice mixture of sweetness and acidity. Ontario is considered a “cool climate region”-which means at harvest time grapes are blessed with more concentrated flavors and balanced acidity, which makes them wonderfully food friendly. That’s why cooler climate wines typically have a livelier favor than those from hotter climates. The Ontario Wine Region also has a unique mesoclimate that protects and nurtures our vines throughout the coldest winters-it is called the “lake effect”. Basically, Lakes Erie and Ontario act as hot water bottles” moderating the climate by strong up heat during the summer months and releasing it in the winter to warm up the air temperature over the vineyards. This means our precious vines are protected from frosts in the spring and benefit from an extended growing season in the fall.

3. Soils

Soils have a major influence on the quality of the grapes, and different grape varieties do better in specific types of soils. Ontario’s Viticultural Areas (growing regions) have four different basic soils: glacial till (mix of clay, slit, sand, gravel, and large stone); clay loam; sandy loam: and silty clay, depending on the specific location of each viticultural area. For example, sandy loam is found near the Lake Ontario shore, while silty clay is found on the escarpment bench areas.

4. Beautiful bouquets, zesty flavors, and rich colors.

The vast selection of Ontario Wines offer a perfect choice for any occasion - the hard part is deciding which ones to try. But before choosing a grape variety, start by taking a look at the different styles of Ontario Wines.

There are three classifications of table wines:

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A. Varietals: a wine made from one grape variety (e.g.: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, etc.). VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) standards state that a wine must contain at least 85% of the grape variety printed on the label, but in practice this figure is closer to 100%. There are three types of varietal wines: a) single varietal (e.g.: one grape variety); b) dual varietal (two grape varieties), and c) triple varietal (three grape varietals).

B. Blended: a wine made from blending of several grape varieties. Blending is a means of improving the overall character of a wine by complementing the different characteristics of different varieties.

C. Meritage (rhymes with heritage): a wine blended in the style of Bordeaux red and white wines, made from two or more grape varieties.

Sparkling Wines: Although "wine with bubbles" is often generically called "champagne", only the wine producers in Champagne, France can legally use this term for their wine. In Ontario we use the term "Sparkling Wines", offering both white and rosé.

Dessert Wines: Dessert wines are sweeter than table wines, with richer and riper flavours. Dessert wines are differentiated from table wines because the grapes have been left on the vine until well after the normal picking date (Late Harvest Dessert Wines) or harvested after the first snowfalls, to make even richer, sweeter wines.

Icewine: Ontario is known for producing exceptional Icewines. Icewine is the result of grapes that have hung on the vine throughout the autumn and early winter, transforming the grapes' flavours into a super-concentrated richness. When the temperature reaches -8° C, the grapes are hand-picked in the still of the night and immediately pressed while frozen, resulting in wine that is rare and unrivalled.

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Technical Session 4. History of American Industry and Transportation

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The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village is a 254-acre attraction in the process of metamorphosis. Once a vast, humorless collection amassed by a vastly humorless man, it has slowly been transformed by the forces of pop culture and light into something worth visiting.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village illustrates Henry Ford's personal commitment to preserving the record of America's technological and cultural progress. The success of the Model T allowed Ford to pursue a number of avocations. Particularly interested in the nation's past, by 1920 Ford was determined to start a museum that would emphasize industrial history and thereby "give people a true picture of the development of the country." Ford had decided that the best way to create this picture would be in two parts. An exhibit hall would display inventions and artifacts that recorded man's technological and cultural progress, while an adjacent outdoor village of residential, commercial, and industrial architecture would show how those objects were made and used.

Opening in 1933, the museum included many items from Ford's collection, from automobiles to player pianos, from steam engines to grease pumps. Ford also built some new structures for the collection of buildings he named Greenfield Village, most notably a replica of Independence Hall that was located at the entrance of the complex. Many of the village's nearly 100 buildings, however, had been moved from their original locations. Reflecting Ford's ideas about the crucial events of history

1. Henry Ford Museum

Henry Ford Museum (12 indoor acres) is more than a place to encounter the artifacts that have shaped America. It is a remarkable destination, the place to meet the people and ideas that have fired America’s imagination and changed our lives. Travel the nation’s roadways in the Automobile in American Life … Experience manufacturing majesty in Made in America … From inventions by well-known names to the lives of everyday Americans, the experiences of Henry Ford Museum speak volumes about the passion of the human spirit. From our permanent exhibitions to special presentations in our state-of-the-art flexible exhibit gallery, we explore the simple truths of people who said, “I can do that!” and did. Discover how these stories affect and inspire life in America today, too, in an exciting, enlightening visit to Henry Ford Museum!

2. Greenfield Village

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Spread over more than 90 acres, Greenfield Village brings to life America’s most powerful stories, surrounding visitors with everyday excitement and authentic detail. History comes alive in the actual places where great American dreams were born, such as Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Laboratory, the Wright brothers’ home and workshop, Noah Webster’s home and more. Our celebration of the American experience is enhanced and enriched with memorable events and encounters, historic re-enactments and live demonstrations of American ingenuity.

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Technical Session 5. History and Culture of the Great Lakes Region

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1. Mackinaw City

Mackinaw City is located at the northern most tip of Michigan's lower peninsula. The village of Mackinaw City was platted in 1857.

In the 18th Century, Mackinaw City was the site of Fort Michilimackinac, a French and then English fortified community.

2. St. Ignace City

Father Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary, a French Jesuit missionary, and a group of Huron Indians traveled to St. Ignace around 1671 and built a mission on this site.

The museum of Ojibaw Culture is a church over 160 years old, housing artifacts from the French settlements of the late 1600's and the Ottawa and Huron tribes.

3. Mackinac Bridge

Rising 552 feet (that's 55 stories!) above the Straits of Mackinac, where lakes Michigan and Huron meet, is the world-famous Mackinac Bridge. Also known as the "Mighty Mac," this engineering marvel is 5 miles long and, anchor block to anchor block, holds the record as the longest suspension bridge in the world!

Before the Mackinac Bridge was constructed, travelers between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas had to cross the Straits via an an hour-long ferry ride. On busy weekends, like the start of hunting season or the Fourth of July holiday, carloads of anxious travelers would wait in line as long as 24 hours to catch a ferry.

Although the bridge was envisioned way back in the late 1800s, Sen. Prentiss M. Brown, Sr., the "Father of the Mackinac Bridge," was the key figure in the bridge construction project. Governor-elect G. Mennen (Soapie) Williams was another strong advocate for the bridge and helped to create the Mackinac Bridge Authority in 1950. The bridge designer was Dr. David B. Steinman and primary contruction firms were Merrit-Chapman & Scott and the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel.

Today, the Mackinac Bridge is hailed as one of the most outstanding engineering achievements of the century and leaves people wondering how Michigan ever got along without it! The 100 millionth crossing of the bridge happened on June 25, 1998.

4. Macknac Island (An American national historic landmark)

According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwe tradition, Mackinac Island is a sacred place populated by the first people and was home to the Great Spirit Gitchie Manitou. Mackinac Island, by virtue of its location in the center of the Great Lakes waterway, became a tribal gathering place where offerings were made to Gitchie Manitou and where tribes buried their chiefs to honor the Great Spirit. Native Americans traveling

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the Straits region likened the shape of the island to that of a turtle’s back and named it Michilimackinac, Land of the Great Turtle.

Mackinac’s location and rich fish population also drew French traders and Jesuit missionaries. In the 1670s, the first Europeans visited Mackinac. Father Claude Dablon wished to establish a mission on Mackinac Island and encouraged Father Jacques Marquette to move his congregation to the island.

At about the same time French missionaries were converting Native Americans, French fur traders were seeking their assistance in the lucrative fur business. For 150 years, through French, British, and American settlements of Mackinac, the fur trade business was active on Mackinac. After the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the British moved their local settlement from what is now Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island and constructed Fort Mackinac in 1780. In order to protect their interests in the Great Lakes Fur Trade, Chippewa chiefs Kitchie Negon, Pouanas, Koupe and Magousseihigan sold Mackinac Island to the British on May 12, 1781 during the

American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Island continued as a battleground during the War of 1812 (1812-1815), which eventually confirmed American and Canadian independence from the British crown. British troops were then forced to turn Fort Mackinac over to the Americans. During the 1820s Mackinac Island became one of the most valuable trading posts in John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company and dominated life on Mackinac Island.

In the 1830s Mackinac’s primary industry switched to fishing. Small entrepreneurs dominated the fishing trade and American Fur Company warehouses switched from storing furs to storing fish.  Before competition increased in the area in the 1870s, Mackinac shipped as many as 20,000 barrels of fish a year.  The increase in rail access to the Straits area also hurt Island fish business as mainland competition could take easier advantage of this shipping method.

Fort Mackinac housed the central government for the Northern Frontier after the American Revolution. By the end of the War of 1812, the Island figured prominently in the governing and early development of the Northwest Territory. Interestingly enough, Fort Mackinac served in the Civil War as a prison for three Confederate sympathizers. The island provided volunteers for the Civil War’s Union cause from both its native and military ranks. After the Civil War, Mackinac quickly became a popular resort destination and Mackinac’s business switched to tourism. By 1875 Congress created Mackinac Island National Park, the country’s second national park (the first was Yellowstone). Mackinac Island National Park became Michigan’s first state park in 1895 when the park was transferred from the U.S. Government to the

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State of Michigan. By the end of the twentieth century, tourism had replaced furs and fishing as the Island’s only viable industry.

Growing concerns for public health and safety in the 1920s led to regulatory systems which remain in effect today to restrict motor vehicles, excluding emergency vehicles in both the State Park and the City of Mackinac Island. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the steward of the island’s historic and natural resources, began its preservation efforts in the 1890s. A revenue bond program, signed into law by Governor G. Mennen Williams in 1958, allowed the State Park Commission led by Chairman (and owner of Grand Hotel) W. Stewart Woodfill to establish an historic restoration and museum program for the park. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Mackinac Island as one of “America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.”

5. Native Peoples of the Great Lakes Region  A. Origins

Indians, or Native Peoples, were the original inhabitants of North America and the Great Lakes region. In fact, Native Peoples inhabited the continent tens of thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from Europe and the Far East. By the 16th century, the Native Peoples of North America had evolved into widely different cultures. Notable tribes around the Great Lakes included people we now call the Chippewa, Fox, Huron, Iroquois, Ottawa, Potawatomi and Sioux.

Approximately 120 bands of Native Peoples have occupied the Great Lakes basin over the course of history. In the United States, Native Peoples are also referred to as American Indians or Native Americans. In Canada, tribes are called First Nations. In the Ontario region alone, more than 75 bands of First Nations are reported. A band is based on kinship and family affiliation. A nuclear family is part of a clan (cousins), a clan is part of a band (aunts, uncles, extended cousins), and a collection of bands make up a tribe. Tribes are traditionally highly organized, politically autonomous groups.  B. The name "Indian"

Some researchers attribute Indian to the Spanish word "In Dios" (children of God). Others believe the name originated with Christopher Columbus when he landed on the island of San Salvador during his explorations in 1492. He mistakenly believed that he had arrived off the coast of Asia (West Indies) and dubbed the people he found there "Indians."  C. Trade routes

The French explorers who first visited the Great Lakes, beginning with Lake Huron in 1615, found Native Peoples who had mastered their environment and were economically self-sustaining. These Europeans brought implements of iron-needles, fishhooks, hatchets, traps and guns-items that the

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Native Peoples immediately saw could make their lives easier and they began trading furs and skins for these implements. The pelts of fur-bearing animals, especially beavers, were most sought after by the European traders. Many Natives abandoned their traditional needs and became dependent on trade. Such was the basis of the Indian trade over which wars were waged and the history of the Great Lakes region was shaped. The Native Peoples of the upper lakes often traveled hundreds of miles by canoe down the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers to Three Rivers or Montreal, where they exchanged their furs for goods they desired. Beginning around 1660, the traders swarmed over the western Great Lakes wilderness.

Village sites and early fur trade centers at Green Bay (in present-day Wisconsin) and Chicago were places of importance to many Native Peoples in the Great Lakes region and were connected by well-established trails. Both cities also retained their Indian-given names. These trails would later become the major highways of today. One ran southeasterly to Manitowoc Rapids, from where it followed the general course of the lakeshore. The other ran up the southern bank of the Fox River and skirted the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago to Fond du Lac at its southern end, eventually turning southeastward to Milwaukee and further south to Chicago. The present-day cities of Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinaw, Michigan, were other important trade centers.

D. Wars and treatiesRelations between the Native Peoples and the European settlers were friendly; fur-

trading was much more important to them than acquiring land. Only as white encroachment on Indian lands increased after the American Revolution did relations deteriorate. The Indians who survived war and disease were steadily and methodically pushed westward onto lands not yet settled by the Europeans. This pattern would persist for two centuries. After the War of 1812, American authority was complete around Lake Michigan. Other regions, however, such as the U.S./Canada border area around the St. Marys River, were not completely settled until the mid-1800s.

The remaining Native Peoples "reserved" land for their continued use. These "reserved lands," now commonly known as Indian Reservations, were just one of many rights that the Native Peoples retained through a series of treaties with the American and Canadian governments.

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Technical Session 6. Ecology of the Great Lakes

1. Tahquamenon Falls in Upper Peninsula (Upper Michigan)

The Tahquamenon River rises from springs north of McMillan and drains an area of more than 820 square miles and makes its waterfalls. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. A maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second has been recorded cascading over its precipice. Four miles downstream is the Lower Falls, a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island.

This is the land of Longfellow's Hiawatha - "by the rushing Tahquamenaw" where Hiawatha built his canoe. Long before the white man set eyes on the river, the abundance of fish in its waters and animals along its shores attracted the Chippewa Indians who camped, farmed, fished and trapped along its banks. In the late 1800s came the lumber barons and the river carried their logs by the millions to the mills. The lumberjacks, who harvested the tall timber, were among the first permanent white settlers in the area.

The Upper Peninsula normally experiences mild summers with average temperatures near 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). Winter temperatures average 14 degrees F (-10 degrees C). Rain and snowmelt in the region can reach up to 200 inches annually. Travelers should be aware that significant amounts of snow could fall within a relatively short period of time resulting in hazardous road conditions.2. Effects of global climate change on Great Lakes Wetlands

One predicted outcome of global climate change is warming of the Earth's atmosphere as a result of the greenhouse effect. Such a climate change would most likely affect Great Lakes wetlands through its effect on water levels in the lakes and ground-water systems feeding the lakes. Lake level is the primary factor controlling shoreline behavior and ultimately the status of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, but the mechanisms of this control and its long-term dynamics are still poorly understood.This study provides long-term data on the responses of wetlands at three different latitudes in the Lake Michigan basin and three longitudes in the Lake Superior basin to warming and cooling events over the past 4000 years through the use of sedimentological and paleoecological analyses of sediment cores. We hypothesize that Great Lakes wetlands will respond to future warming events and water-level changes in much the same manner that they did in the past. Therefore, past responses of wetland plant communities can be related to current conditions and used as a predictor of future responses should global warming become a reality.

3. Water ecology of the Great Lakes

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Climate change may result in changes in lake temperatures which could affect fish communities as well as commercial and recreational fishing. Changes in the lakes temperatures may alter the food web make-up of lake algae; new exotic species may pose challenges for fishery managers and water utilities, as they try to provide safe, clean water to their communities.

Primary production in Lake Michigan will decline as the climate warms, which has implications for the entire food web supporting fish life. All other factors being equal, fish from all thermal guilds would benefit from climate change because of increases in the length of the growing season and because fish can move to deeper, cooler waters when surface waters exceed preferred temperatures. However, changes in deep-water oxygen and other habitat variables may prevent the more vulnerable cold-water fish from occupying their current, preferred thermal niches. Impacts on the Great Lakes are further complicated by the introduction of exotic species such as the zebra mussel, alewife, sea lamprey as well as unknown invaders of the future.

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Technical Session 7. Geological Formation and Shoreline Geology of the Great Lakes

1. How the lakes were formed

About a billion years ago, a fracture in the earth running from what is now Oklahoma to Lake Superior generated volcanic activity that almost split North America. Over a period of 20 million years, lava intermittently flowed from the fracture.

This geomorphic age created mountains covering the regions now known as northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Laurentian mountains were formed in eastern Canada. Over time these mountains eroded, while occasional volcanic activity continued. Molten magma below the highlands of what is now Lake Superior spewed out to its sides, causing the highlands to sink and form a mammoth rock basin that would one day hold Lake Superior. Eventually the fracture stabilized and, over time, the rock tilted down from north to south.

The region went from fire to ice with the arrival of the glaciers, which advanced and retreated several times over the last 5 million years. During the periods of glaciation, giant sheets of ice flowed across the land, leveling mountains and carving out massive valleys. Where they encountered more resistant bedrock in the north, only the overlying layers were removed. To the south, the softer sandstone and shales were more affected. As the glaciers melted and began receding, their leading edges left behind high ridges, some of which can be seen today in the cliffs of Door County, Wisconsin, and the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Huge lakes formed between these ridges from the retreating ice fronts, and continually changed over time as the ice sheet moved northward.

2. Great Lakes Shoreline Geology

From the wetlands along Lake Ontario's shore, to the sand dunes along Lake Michigan, to the rocky shore of Lake Superior, the Great Lakes shoreline abounds in diversity. Millions of years of glacial formation, wind, lava flows, and changing lake levels have sculpted a unique and ever changing shoreline. These shoreline systems absorb the brunt of wind and wave energy from the lakes, helping to protect the inland areas.

Glaciers and more glaciersSix hundred million years ago, during the Paleozoic Era, central North America

was covered by a shallow sea. This sea deposited a lot of sand, salts, and silts, which, after time, were compressed into limestone, sandstone, shale, halite, and gypsum.

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The sea retreated from the Great Lakes region before the end of the Paleozoic Era. Eventually, the earth cooled, and during the Pleistocene Epoch, about 1 million years ago, the ice ages began, and glaciers advanced and retreated many times over what is now the Great Lakes region. Being over one mile thick, these glaciers flattened and carved large holes in the land. Where they encountered more resistant bedrock, such as volcanic deposits, only the overlying layers were removed; but the softer sandstone and shale allowed the glaciers to dig out the large basins that make up the Great Lakes today.

As the glaciers melted and began receding, their leading edges left behind high ridges and fascinating rock formations, some of which can be seen today in the cliffs of Door County, Wisconsin, and the "flowerpots" on Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Huge lakes formed between these ridges from the retreating ice fronts. As many as 8-12 ice ages occurred, each lasting around 50,000 years; during the longer, warmer periods in between each ice age, plants and wildlife returned to the area.

The last glacier began retreating around 14,000 years ago, and the earth warmed considerably. As the glaciers melted, the resulting water, called meltwater, filled the huge holes left by the glaciers. During this time, the lakes were much larger than they are now, and they had different river outlets. But as the ice retreated, the St. Lawrence River Valley revealed itself as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lake levels eventually dropped to current levels.

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Upper Peninsula

Houghton

Lower Michigan

Technical Session 8. General Information of Keweenaw Peninsula

Michigan Technological University began life as the Michigan Mining School in Houghton in 1885. Established by the state of Michigan to train mining engineers to better operate the local copper mines. Michigan Tech. has been recognized for academic excellence by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges," Money Magazine's "Best Buys in College Education," and Peterson's Competitive Colleges. Michigan Technological University is located one mile from downtown Houghton in the center of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan.

Located on the northwestern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula is surrounded on three sides by Lake Superior, the largest fresh-water lake in the world. In the Keweenaw Peninsula region of Lake Superior, summers are mild with temperatures ranging from 70 to 80oF occasionally reaching the 90s. Students can enjoy summer sports such as softball, wind surfing, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and hiking in the woods. During winter, lake effect snow produces scenic winters with average snowfall of 250 inches providing plenty of snowmobiling and downhill and cross-country skiing in the area.

The Keweenaw Peninsula is a unique blend of natural and human history… a rugged, picturesque land which is inhabited and loved by people of many nationalities. Their taproots are deeply imbedded in the conglomerate formations from which they and their ancestors wrested millions of pounds of copper. Michigan’s Copper industry began thousands of years ago when ancient miners attacked exposed veins of pure copper with huge hammer-stones in Keweenaw Peninsula, the copper country. The Keweenaw Peninsula became world famous for its production of native copper

of a purity rarely found elsewhere. Calumet (the city in the center of Keweenaw Peninsula), originally known as Red Jacket, was an interesting conglomeration of people, buildings, and businesses back in the booming copper mining days. From 1890 to 1910, 60,000 to 70,000 people of every nationality called Calumet home. Over the last seventy years, copper mining in the area gradually came to a halt due to the cost of extracting the red metal from underground mines and the reduced market price for copper.

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Here the pristine woods and waters of the north woods are influenced by an intimacy with Lake Superior. A dramatic contrast between water and land is created by Superior's awesome power. This influence is the source of much of the unique offerings of the Keweenaw. The quiet beauty of the area with vast forests, the abundance of wildlife, breathtaking scenic views, and the winter outdoor activity opportunities make the Keweenaw a year round vacationland.

Hope you have a good time during staying in Houghton!!!

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