The Calumet Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
located in the Lake Michigan Basin. It can be clearly seen as a sand ridge along
Ridge Road south of Chicago. Closer to the lake from the Calumet Shoreline, there are the Tolleston shorelines and farther from the lake are the
Glenwood Shoreline
The Glenwood Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It is named after the town of Glenwood, Illinois. The shoreline was formed when the lake was higher during the last ice age, while ice blocked the Stra ...
, the
Tinley Moraine
The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine, which is located farther from t ...
, and the
Valparaiso Moraine
The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of gla ...
. The shoreline is named after the
Calumet Region
The Calumet Region is the geographic area drained by the Grand Calumet River and the Little Calumet River of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana in the United States. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, which eventually reaches the ...
of Northern Indiana.
Development
The Michigan Lobe of the continental glacier had been stagnant for years, forming the
Glenwood Shoreline
The Glenwood Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It is named after the town of Glenwood, Illinois. The shoreline was formed when the lake was higher during the last ice age, while ice blocked the Stra ...
. Once again, it began a general retreat northwards. The melt waters which formed Glacial Lake Chicago, had more space in which to reside. Then it began to drop. It appears that the outlet to the
Illinois River
The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...
, was cutting downward, keeping pace with the lowering lake. At around , it stopped cutting downward and the lake stabilized.
[''The Indiana Dunes - Legacy of Sand''; Special Report 8; State of Indiana Department of Natural Resources; Geological Survey, John R. Hill, 1974]
Features
The Calumet beach opens into the
Chicago outlet, and is or below the
Glenwood beach. It stands about above
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
at the southern end.
[The Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan, History of the Great Lakes; Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Vol. LIII; Frank Leverett and Frank B. Taylor; Washington, D.C,; Government Printing Office; 1915; Chapter XIV, Glacial Lake Chicago, F. Leverett]
Along much of the east and west shores the beach has been eroded by the lake. Along these shores, it is more than from the lake. It takes its name from the
Calumet River
The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
in northwestern
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
where it is well preserved. On the south shore it is from to from the lakeshore, continuing as far north on the west shore to near
Winnetka.
References
See also
*
Ridge Road
*
Calumet Region
The Calumet Region is the geographic area drained by the Grand Calumet River and the Little Calumet River of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana in the United States. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, which eventually reaches the ...
*
Geography of Indiana
The geography of Indiana comprises the physical features of the land and relative location of U.S. State of Indiana. Indiana is in the north-central United States and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Michigan to the north and no ...
-glacial feature from north to south of Lake Michigan
*
Glenwood Shoreline
The Glenwood Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It is named after the town of Glenwood, Illinois. The shoreline was formed when the lake was higher during the last ice age, while ice blocked the Stra ...
* Calumet Shoreline
*
Tolleston Shoreline The Toleston Shoreline is the third ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It takes its name from the village of Tolleston, now a portion of Gary, Indiana. The shoreline formed when Lake Chicago was high enough to drain t ...
*
Tinley Moraine
The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine, which is located farther from t ...
*
Valparaiso Moraine
The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of gla ...
*
Kankakee Outwash Plain
{{Earth science
Geological history of the Great Lakes
Glacial landforms
Lake Michigan