Love Our Lakes and their Environment Loveourlakes
Welcome To Love Our Lakes
Love Our Lakes Log
Intriguing Information
There are some intriguing facts about our wonderful Great lakes. All of us know there are 5 great lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie.
We found some fascinating tidbits from other places on the internet we wanted to share with you.
1. There are small outlets through which water leaves Lake Superior. It takes two centuries for all the water in the lake to replace itself.
2. Water in Lake Erie replaces itself in only 2.6 years, which is notable considering the water in Lake Superior takes two centuries.
3. Because water enters and exits Lake Michigan through the same path, it takes 77 years longer for the water to replace itself than in Huron, despite their similarity in size and depth. (Lake Michigan: 99 years, Lake Huron: 22 years)
4. Lake Huron is connected to Lake Michigan by the Straits of Mackinac and, technically, these two lakes are one lake. The water from Lake Superior also flows into Lake Huron through the St. Mary's River.
5. The shoreline of all the Great Lakes combined equals nearly 44% of the circumference of the planet.
6. Below Lake Huron, there are 9,000-year-old animal-herding structures used by prehistoric people from when the water levels were significantly lower.
7. There are massive sinkholes in Lake Huron that have high amounts of sulfur and low amounts of oxygen, almost replicating the conditions of Earth’s ancient oceans 3 million years ago. Unique ecosystems are contained within them.
8. In size, Lake Michigan ranks third among the Great Lakes, and sixth among all freshwater lakes in the world.
9. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes in surface area, and second smallest in depth. It’s the 14th largest lake on the planet.
Dream Destination
We are a wonderful travel destination. There are so many diverse activities, and We have a peninsula that stretches 19 miles into Lake Michigan. Traverse City even offers its own peninsula called Old Mission.
There many quaint cottages, bed an breakfasts, cabins, and camping, as well as hotels and large resorts. There is something for everyone.
During the winter months we have cross country and down hill skiing. In fact, we have some of the best skiing in this part of the country. There is snow tubing and snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowboarding, and of course snowmobiling. We have the Boardman Valley Trail which is an 80 mile network of scenic routes. The Jordan Valley Trail, about a half-hour to the northeast, features over 130 miles of spectacular trails. With all of those scenic areas you will find breathtaking beauty and wildlife up close.
Our summer has a vast amount of activities. If you are into small shops, wining tasting, dining, or microbreweries, look no further than the downtown area. Just follow your nose and you will find an eclectic mix of food and fun.
If you love the summer outdoor activities you are in the perfect area. Since we are situated on the 45th Parallel, you will have longer days to go hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, sailing, golfing or do other activities.
Make sure you visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes. You can take a scenic drive and look over Lake Michigan. Take one of the many trails where you are able to hike or bike. If you are into intense workouts you can even climb the dunes.
We also have the popular National Cherry Festival, the Beach Bums Baseball team, and balloon tours.
Here are a couple of links with a plethora of information: https://www.traversecity.com/things-to-do/top-activities/
Love Our Lakes Beaches
We have some of the most beautiful beaches in Northern lower Michigan. It is a paradise of breathtaking scenery. We have countless beaches, both public an private where you can grab the sunscreen, take a swim or relax in the sun.
One of the issues dear to our hearts is helping to keep our little slice of heaven clean and pristine.
If you ask most people they will tell you they want to have clean beaches, and water. We all do, but how many people do their part to keep our beaches clean? How many people connect what they value most to their behavior?
Are you one of the people who think well just one cigarette butt won't hurt anything? Well the trash can is full, we will just drop it here close to the can. Often times people don't think about what one little bottle, plate, or diaper can do to an area. Think how our beaches look after the 4th of July or the Cherry Festival. There is a deluge of trash on our beaches and common areas after big events like these. That doesn't account for the normal trash beach goers leave everyday.
We all want to do the right thing, but like so many other things in life we take the easy path. The one that ends up causing others to pick up the trash we leave behind.
Did you know Chicago has 14,000 volunteers to pick up trash 3 or 4 times a year, and they spend 1.6 million dollars on beach clean-up activities and littering.
We want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. We would love to see a clean up on our beaches.
Instead of having negative signs like Don't Litter, use positive signs.
Have a trash to treasure contest each month to promote cleanliness. Have groups make teams. Get area businesses to promote free things for the team that wins.
Look for those artists in the area who use glass or metals in their work that would allow us donate to their work.
Find places that recycle plastics like lids and jugs into benches for our parks, and beaches.
Trash and Microbeads on Our Beaches
Fast Facts about Litter
MicroBeads
How does this effect me
MicroBeads
1. Microbeads are tiny plastic particles used in soaps, scrubs, shampoo, and make-up.
2. The tiny beads get washed down the drain.
1. Microbeads are tiny plastic particles used in soaps, scrubs, shampoo, and make-up.
2. The tiny beads get washed down the drain.
3. Once they are in our waters they can absorb toxic chemicals. Fish and other wildlife think they are food and consume them. Thus putting our wildlife at risk as well as those who might eat the toxic fish.
4. There are alternatives now being used due to the Bill passed by Congress in 2015.
It banned the manufacture of personal care products with microbeads after July 2017. It also banned the sale of personal care products containing microbeads by 2018.
Plastics
How does this effect me
MicroBeads
1. Only about 16% of the microplastics found in the Great Lakes are microbeads. The majority of the plastic in our waters are broken down remnants from larger pieces.
2. Plastic pollution in Lake Michigan is approximately the size of 100 Olympic-sized pools full of plastic bottles dumped into the lake every year.
3. Plastic in the la
1. Only about 16% of the microplastics found in the Great Lakes are microbeads. The majority of the plastic in our waters are broken down remnants from larger pieces.
2. Plastic pollution in Lake Michigan is approximately the size of 100 Olympic-sized pools full of plastic bottles dumped into the lake every year.
3. Plastic in the lakes is moved by winds and currents to our shorelines.
4. 22 Million pounds of plastic flow into the great lakes every year.
How does this effect me
How does this effect me
How does this effect me
1. Plastic waste kills hundreds of marine life and other animals every year.
2. Plastic waste destroys beaches and natural areas for future generations.
3. Plastic breaks down and puts hundreds of chemicals into the water.
4. Trash clogs the run off areas and causes flooding.
5. Oil used to make plastic products is an expensive and limited resource