Hat Island is a small island on the eastern edge of the
Beaver Island archipelago in
Lake Michigan. It is about 10 acres (0.04 km²) in size and located in eastern
St. James Township,
Charlevoix County, Michigan
Charlevoix County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 26,054. The county seat is Charlevoix.
History
1840s: surveyed and organized as Keskkauko County
Between 1840 and 1841, surveyors Wil ...
. It became part of the
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
The Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for nine Michigan islands in the North American Great Lakes. Owned by the United States federal government, they were set aside for ecosystem protection purposes by President Frankli ...
in 1943.
Like other islands in the Michigan Islands NWR, Hat Island was formed during the
Wisconsin glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...
when a melting glacier randomly dumped a large quantity of
boulders and
gravel in a spot that became part of the lakebed. The island was selected for inclusion in the Michigan Islands NMWR because of its standing as a potential breeding ground for herring
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...
s and other fish-eating birds.
During
World War 2
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
it was used as a practice bombing site by the US Navy.
Hat Island is roughly four-sided, with an SSE-pointing forepeak that is said to look like the upturned brim of a hat.
References
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Protected areas of Charlevoix County, Michigan
Islands of Lake Michigan in Michigan
Uninhabited islands of Michigan
Islands of Charlevoix County, Michigan