History Of Water: The Great Lakes Of Michigan

For the first paragraph we shall have a quick focus on the geological history of the area of Kalamazoo. The main deposits and formations of the Kalamazoo area where formed during the Wisconsin glaciation period. Now the deposits are actually due to two lobes during this period, the lobes are the Lake Michigan and Saginaw lobe. Kalamazoo is actually know as a “reentrant district” due to the presence of two different lobes materials. During the middle of the Wisconsin Ice Age the Lake Michigan lobe was extending southeastward, while the Saginaw lobe was extending southwest. With the meeting of the two lobes an interlobate developed between the terminals of the lobes. It is also thought that the two lobes overlapped each other. With the Saginaw lobe covering the Kalamazoo area first and then retreating while the Lake Michigan lobe then covered the area. There are also some bedrock formations in the area as well, these formations were established during

: Larchwood Lake may not ever be the same again. The story about Larchwood Lake is not that uncommon. Without doing extensive research into possible things that could occur by lowering the lake level, the Larchwood Lake Homeowner’s Association destroyed the very thing they were trying to protect. Carelessness and poor planning are not the only root causes however. There are a number of reasons that led to the degradation of Larchwood Lake that happen to relate to more macro level environmental issues. Those reasons are poorly designed environmental policy created by the E.P.A., poor understanding of lake ecology by the managers of the land, and false confidence in poorly planned ideas. By looking at how these factors contributed to the degradation of the lake, hopefully we will be able to make more ecological sound decisions in the future.

The present configuration of the Great Lakes basin is the result of the movement of massive glaciers through the mid-continent, a process that began about one million years ago. . . . Studies in the Lake Superior region indicate that a river system and valleys formed by water erosion existed before the Ice Age. The Glaciers undoubtedly scoured these valleys, widening and deepening the and radically changing the drainage of the area (Encyclopedia Britannica )

Michigan is one of the fifty states within the United States of America and is favored with having the largest shoreline within the U.S. It is characterized by two peninsulas, the upper peninsula (which is obviously cooler) and the lower peninsula which holds a vast majority of the land and also a big chunk of us, Michiganders. The name Michigan comes from the Chippewa Indian word Michigama which means great or large lake. Lake Michigan was called Michigama by the Chippewa Indians. Our unique state is luckily surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes. The Great Lakes in our region have vastly influenced our state and those around us. Without Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie, we would not have the large fresh water sources we currently are blessed with, many jobs would not exist, recreational activities would be slim to none, and we simply wouldn’t have the gorgeous views all around us. To say the very least, the state of Michigan is

Environments where sediments are elated and deposited quickly are high energy environments like ocean shores, or rushing rivers. Eco systems where small particles of sediments are often deposited in low energy areas. This is found in regions where there are deep lakes or swamps. Landforms shaped by erosion are tall, jagged structures with grazes in layers of rock and landforms produced by deposition are flat and low lying. Landforms created by deposition are alluvial fans, sandbars, moraines, eskers, and deserts. While landforms created by erosion are mountains, valleys, hoodoos, sea arches, sea caves, plains, sea cliff and

Back in the 1960’s, Lake Erie was declared “dead” because, ironically, it was full of life – just not the right kind (GLIN, n.d.). The algal blooms that formed due to high concentrations of nutrient-loaded city street run off invaded the freshwater lake, killing native species, reducing oxygen quantities, and smothering beaches with its slime (GLIN, n.d.).

Erosion is mainly caused by two main natural forces: water and wind. In Southwest Louisiana, erosion by water is one of the main issues we have as a coastal state. There are different factors that must be considered when looking at water erosion

The processes of water erosion that were listed above are also main contributors to the elevation levels of Michigan.

As this river of ice moved slowly over the hidden rocks, the base of the glacier grazed millions of sediments in the Earth. The after math composed of soil, pebbles, cobbles and boulders that pushed forward, smashing rocks into glacial dust. Then the climate began to warm. Melted water from the glaciers carried the soils and rocks away from the dissolving glacier, depositing its leftovers throughout the landscape. This combination of soils and rocks deposited. Then low hills, or moraines, were created across the state. Michigan's glacial drift averages 200 to 300 feet. The scraping of boulders created particles. The heaviest pieces formed ridges, which made the stream's flow in a certain direction. Lighter materials were carried further, dropping on the way as the flowing water slowed. These materials dried forming enormous, flat colored areas of sand, silt, clay creating a mixture called the outwash plains. The weight of the glacier over the Michigan basin was dropping, and the Earth began to recoil, like a sponge coming back to its original shape. The Michigan landscape began to appear. Plants began to approach on the shriveled landscape. Individual plants found a suitable growing environment near each other, which created a suitable home for

The tiny pieces of rocks broken off by weathering are called sediment or alluvium. Erosion is the process of transportation of this sediment which on sea cliffs sediments becomes part of the seafloor and is washed away with the waves. The larger rocks that are broken off by sediment as shown in this picture are called scree or talus; scree builds up at the bottom of cliffs as the rocks tumble down, these piles are called scree slopes or talus piles.

Living around the Great Lakes like we do in Michigan brings a lot of advantages. We have a great amount of water, unlike much of the United States. Water has shaped Michigan to its shape over the past thousands of years. The total area of Michigan is 96,716 miles squared. The total surface of the Great Lakes is 94,250 miles squared. Michigan is surrounded by 4 of the 5 Great Lakes like shown in figure 1. The Great Lakes include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie. Water has shaped Michigan to the shape it is by many different ways. Erosion, transportation, deposition, glaciers, and manmade causes.

The great plains are located to the west of the Interior Plains. The great plains consist of a large, flat, and treeless area of land. The nation’s “breadbasket” is known as the Great Plains! These plains are famous for their raising of livestock and agriculture. A large range of mountains that are found west of the Great Plains are known as the Rocky Mountains. This mountain range extends from Alaska to New Mexico and is considered the younger of the two large ranges of mountains in the United States. The Great Lakes connect the middle of the US to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River. That creates one of the world’s major shipping routes. There are five great lakes, and they are Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie. The Great Lakes are rich in mineral resources such as coal and iron. These lakes are also the center of urban and industrial growth. The river that is the longest and busiest river system in the United States and starts off as a small stream in Minnesota and empties into the Gulf of Mexico is known as the Mississippi River. The flat and treeless area that spreads from the Appalachian Mountains to three hundred miles to the west of the Mississippi River are the Interior Plains. These plains stretch into parts of Canada, where the ground is covered in permafrost. Where there is no permafrost, these areas produce different varieties of animal and plant life along with some

Its past occurrence is recognized by unusual patterns of drainage, changes in accumulating sediment, and cyclic patterns of sediment deposition”(Pederson 1).

71 percent of the earth’s surface is made of water. 97 percent of earths water is saline water and not safe for human consumption. This leaves just 3 percent of earth’s water as fresh water most of which is icecaps and glaciers. 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers. 30 percent of fresh water is found in ground water leaving around .3 percent of earth’s water as surface fresh water. Of the .3 percent of surface fresh water the great lakes make up 84% of North America 's surface fresh water and about 21% of the world 's supply of surface fresh water. ("Great Lakes Facts and Figures." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.)

Sandstone is known to have a higher resistance to erosion than that of shale and limestone. The Ridge and Valley regions of our landscape were originally designed with shale-based high points and sandstone-based low points. As the effects of weathering via erosion