Lake Effect: Along Superior's Shores (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)

158 Pages·2003·1.02 MB·English

by  Erika G. Alin

Lake Effect

Lake Effect
a l o n g
s u p e r i o r’s
s h o r e s
Erika Alin
⁄
University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London
The frontispiece photograph was taken by the author at Artist’s Point in Grand
Marais, Minnesota, October 1998.
Map of Lake Superior was created by Parrot Graphics.
Copyright 2003 by Erika Alin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alin, Erika G.
Lake effect : along Superior’s shores / Erika Alin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8166-4114-5 (PB : alk. paper)
1. Superior, Lake, Region—Description and travel. 2. Superior, Lake,
Region—History, Local. 3. Superior, Lake, Region—History. 4. Natural
history—Superior, Lake, Region. 5. Landscape—Superior, Lake,
Region. I. Title.
F552 .A44 2003
917.74'90444—dc21
2002154133
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface / vii
Map of Lake Superior / x
Wild River / 1
The Gulls of Kitchi Gammi / 11
Crosby’s Paradox / 20
Bicknell’s Geranium / 30
No Bar River / 39
The Heritage of Landscapes / 46
Harebells / 55
The Group of Seven at Coldwell / 64
Louis Agassiz on the Eastern Shore / 72
In the Shade of Pines / 80
Orion / 89
On the Porcupine Coast / 99
The Mission of Saint Esprit / 106
Gathering Instincts / 119
The Brule River / 125
References / 135
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Preface
after more than a decade in the midwest, i am
still uncomfortable being landlocked. Growing up, dividing my
time between northern Long Island and western Sweden, I took
the ocean as much for granted as the air I breathed. I moved to
Minnesota by chance, to pursue an unexpected job offer, and
had it not been for Lake Superior’s waters, I am convinced that
I would have headed back east years ago. Lake Superior saved me
from geographic claustrophobia, offering what nothing else in
the landscape could: an immediate sense of connection, a short-
hand for converting the strange into the familiar and imbuing my
surroundings with the affi nity to and awareness of a place where
I feel at home. After countless trips north from my Saint Paul
home, its waters still draw me like a lightning rod.
These essays are the product of my journey into the natural
and human landscape of the lake. They sample the rich diversity
in geologic history, natural habitat, and cultural experience that
has shaped Lake Superior’s shores. Various regions of the lake
offer the visitor different experiences, depending on the composi-
tion of the bedrock, the force of wind and weather, and the long
line of human inhabitants who have crossed the shores. Ontario’s
granite outcrops leave a different impression than Michigan’s sand-
stone shelves. Mining, a critical cause of early European settle-
ment, left its mark mainly inland of the Minnesota and Michigan
coasts. Logging extended its reach more uniformly, but although
vii
viii / preface
protected patches of old-growth forest remain in several places,
those hoping for a wilderness experience may be better off in
Ontario. The different statements that varied regions make are
heightened by the fact that several species of trees, plants, and
animals reach the limits of their natural range in the Superior
area. Apart from isolated locations, yellow birches are uncommon
on the north shore, sugar maples and eastern hemlocks grow most
abundantly on glacial deposits and loamy soils farther south, and
the endangered piping plover nests mainly on Michigan beaches.
Diversity is apparent not only between but also within regions
and often even at specifi c destinations. Many of the places visited
in this book provide a menu of natural environments to choose
from: rocky ledges or outcrops, small sheltered beaches, pine-clad
northern ridges, southern hardwood slopes, inland streams, and
more. I let my interests guide me in choosing which of a nearly
infi nite array of possible areas to visit, and which components of
each place’s natural and human history to explore. I am confi dent
that others would make different choices, each adding a perspec-
tive, whether in word, image, or even a thought or experience
shared with no one else, to the chronology of human encounters
with the lake. Yet for all the variations, as anyone who travels
around the lake is likely to notice, the Superior landscape is also
full of reassuring similarities. The north woods ties its ribbon
around the length of the shore, and fortunately, more than a few
bits and pieces of knowledge about fl ora, fauna, and even human
history acquired in one area can be transferred to another.
This book begins with a visit to the lower Saint Louis River,
which, having its outlet through Duluth-Superior harbor, forms
the southern extension of Lake Superior’s Minnesota shore. Pro-
ceeding roughly clockwise around the lake, I follow the Minne-
sota and Ontario coastlines, taking in Kitchi Gammi Park, the
Temperance River, Crosby Manitou State Park, Grand Marais, the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Coldwell Peninsula,
and Lake Superior Provincial Park. Moving west along the Michi-
gan and Wisconsin coasts, I explore the natural and human
preface / ix
histories of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Porcupine Mountains,
and Chequamegon Bay before ending at the Brule River, east of
Duluth-Superior, in northwestern Wisconsin. The order of the
essays suggests a predetermined circular route around the lake, but
like many good journeys this one has been full of detours. It began
with a focus on natural and geologic history, but the discovery of
new places frequently provided a context for delving into other
areas. The essays accordingly explore topics as diverse as the names
of rivers, early Native American settlement, French explorers and
missionaries, geologic history, women botanists, ring-billed gulls,
and the Group of Seven artists. Quite often, the essays probe par-
ticular phenomena and connections that have intrigued me but are
not necessarily defi ning characteristics of the places.
Much more could have been said about the rapid pace of devel-
opment, including the growing tourist economy, that is jeopardiz-
ing the natural environment of the Lake Superior region. May the
day never come when large swaths of the shore will be devoid of
genuine natural places, when for every vista there will be another
highway pullout, and for every bend in the trail another bench or
marker. But I also use those pullouts, stop at the gas stations and
cafés, and in winter abandon campgrounds for highway motels. In
the end, all that each of us can do is to try, wherever we may be, to
fi nd natural places that connect with our lives, that metaphorically
weave together our experiences and understandings.
Many people have helped me in this pursuit over the years.
Park rangers on both sides of the border have shared information
and tips on places to visit. Staff and librarians at state and county
historical societies and departments of natural resources have
assisted me in locating documents, reports, and other primary
source materials. Tim Cochrane, Cynthia Cone, Ted Hodapp,
Patricia Maus, Richard Ojakangas, and Carol Urness have gener-
ously read and commented on earlier versions of several of the
essays. And Michael, my friend and partner on life’s journeys, has
crossed many a milepost with me, encouraging me forward with
his unshakable faith in my endeavors.