Land of the Great Water, a photo from Michigan, Midwest

Photographer's Note

Michigan is derived from the native Algonquin term meaning "Great Water". And Lake Michigan is a great water, a sweet water sea. Third largest of the Great Lakes it has an area of 22,270 square miles (57,750 km2) and a volume of 1,180 cubic miles (4,920 km3). It has a 1,658 mile (2,670 km) long shoreline varying from beaches like this to great sand dunes and from cities of millions like Chicago to tiny lakeside communities surrounded by verdant forests. Its depth averages 279 ft (85m) but it reaches down to 925 ft (282m) at its deepest point. It has one natural outlet at the Straits of Mackinac, one artificial outlet at Chicago and a retention period of 99 years. It can be peaceful or violent and internal waves can decrease the temperature in areas by as much as 15 degrees celsius in a matter of a few hours.

And it is from this that the state of Michigan also gets its name. Michigan is the land of "Great Water". Michigan may be the largest state east of the Mississippi but nearly 2/5 of Michigan's surface area is composed of water. That is because Michigan is made up of two peninsulas surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan, Superior, Huron and Erie. There are also thousands of inland lakes. No point in Michigan is more than 6 miles (10 km) from an inland lake or 85 miles (140 km) from a Great Lake. And Michigan has the second longest coastline of any state, after Alaska. Because of this Michigan also has more lighthouses than any state with over 130 of them dotting the shoreline.

Michigan's climate is also at the mercy of the lakes. The west facing portions of the state are both warmed and cooled by the waters. The moisture helps create some of the finest fruit producing regions in the United States. But in the winter the lakes bring "lake effect" snow. As moisture accumulates across the lake it results in exceptionally heavy snowfalls along the shore. Cities along the western shores can get 30 inches (75 cm) in one day. Sometimes lake effect snow can even cross the entire state. You can see a dramatic satellite photo of Lake Effect Snow covering the entire state of Michigan here.

Facts about Michigan

Breakdown of Area
Land Area: 56,809 square miles (91,479 km2)
Inland Lakes: 1,305 square miles (2100 km2)
Great Lakes within state boundaries: 38,575 square miles (62,118 km2)

Total state Great Lake shoreline: 3300 miles (5300 km) (Longer than Spain or France or equal to the east coast of the United States)

Number of inland lakes: 11,037

Length of Rivers: 36,350 miles (58,534 km)

Number of registered boats: Greater than 1 million (1 for every 10 people in the state)

Rinie_Hoff, snuggleaphagus, elihesamian, wilkinsonsg, Tue, maphoto, MarekP, adam, jrj, kajenn, john_c, jhm, papagolf21, papagolf21, bertolucci ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

snuggleaphagus (4146) 2005-07-18 1:46

The little grasses on the forefront are really cool. I like your note. I's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that your lake is so many times larger than the island I grew up. It's like a land locked sea.
Your photo shows well the shoreline and i like the fog rolling in the distance.
This photo and note as served as a good education to me, thanks Paul

elihesamian (26149) 2005-07-18 4:34

Pure nature!
a great place for walking around,just sound of the waves and the slight wind and sometimes some birds in far,...great shot,Excellent details,sharpness and colors(perfectlly real and nice)...great Perspective and it resulted by your fine managing the DOF.
The sky is beautiful,I love this,Paul!

Note!!!
:)
You are great.
Best Regards
M

wilkinsonsg (8662) 2005-07-18 12:20

A great note (as usual) - the image I believe is something different from you - very simple and stark, you could even say bleak - the greens and greys all add to a well contrasted image.

Tue (92370) 2005-07-18 17:08

Hi Paul,
Yes indeed, I would say this is a sea rather than a lake. Over 57,000km2, that's larger than my whole homecountry! This is a nice and well composed picture, very well done!
Groeten,
Lars

maphoto (8082) 2005-07-18 22:43

Another great informative picture Paul, very interesting fact about lake Michigan and the area. A well chosen point of view, nice angle and well framed, great sharpness, well seen & done.

billabongx (1585) 2005-07-19 3:29

Hi Paul,
Wonderful view over this beautiful landscape.
Nice graphism in this picture.....
byebye
daniele

sergecross (3438) 2005-07-19 9:41

Paul, i like the point of view, but i am not sure if the picture contains an interesting shot, anyway i like the composition and the background.
Sergio

MarekP (4750) 2005-07-19 23:12

Hi Paul,
This is beautiful and paceful landscape. Thanks to low PoV the picture has impressive depth rangin from grass in foreground to the distant horizon. I like the warm colours of sand well blending with fine green of the grass. Well done.

Thanks,
Marek

kajenn (2462) 2005-07-20 22:08

The facts you present about Michigan are amazing, Paul, and nothing I would have guessed. Especially the shoreline and the amount of inland lakes surprise me. As does your photo from the shores at Ludington, which is nothing I expected to see from your neighborhood. It's really fascinating how much this looks like my neighborhood. This resembles very much the coastal nature of northern Europe - or rather southern Scandinavia, as the lack of people indicates a relatively high access to water and some possibly nasty weather able to keep them away too. It's a beautiful and very serene picture - an image of a place for contemplation. Very well done!

jrj (34843) 2005-07-22 7:03

Hi Paul
Well made photo, perfect for the very informative notes.
The land leads well our eyes to the great lake - looking more like an ocean out there. Good perspective and depth and well done disposition of the compo.

john_c (24666) 2005-07-22 23:25

Hello Paul,
A well composed seaside scene. What I like about this shot are the softly rendered textures and hues of the sand and grass, leading one's eye finally to the ocean, which while important to the shot, is not the central focus. Very interesting how the colour of the grasses changes as they grow closer to the sea. A warm summer shot rendered from a perfect POV. Good capture, Paul. Regards.
John

jhm (211736) 2005-07-23 16:00

Paul,
The beach line give excellent perspective, the lovely grass on the foreground nice colour, the sea superb calmness.
Have a nice weekend,
John.

papagolf21 (152607) 2005-07-24 4:59

Bonjour Paul,
Une bien intéressante leçon de géographie, grâce à vos notes toujours très détaillées et très instructives nous apprenons à mieux connaître certains lieux géographiques.
De plus, la note est accompagnée d'une bien jolie photo d'une dune donnant sur ce lac gigantesque.
Un grand merci du partage.
Philippe

bertolucci (14052) 2005-07-25 14:38

A fine seascape this is Paul. Itcould have been taken at the North Sea with its dunes and its typical vegetation. I love all the hues of green and the way the coast curves into the fog. The pocket of sand with its tracks adds together with the intricate patterns of the grass xtra interest. The DoF is well chosen.
Again your notes is very informative, astonishing figures. Thanx also for adding the URL (impressive weather picture).
Regards from Rotterdam, Bert.