Washington Island is an uninhabited island in

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. It is within the boundary of

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

and

Isle Royale National Park Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan ...

, a national park located within the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It is the westernmost point marked on most maps of the elongated

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

that makes up this park. However, a small islet called ''Bottle Island'' and an even smaller shoal that breaks the lake surface,

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

, are located further westward. Washington Island is approximately long and wide. Like the rest of the

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

archipelago, the island is an ancient ridge of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

oriented from the southwest to the northeast. Washington Island is separated by Grace Harbor from Isle Royale. It has relatively low visitation, with the majority of day trippers being sea kayakers from nearby

Windigo Ranger Station Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan ...

. The waters of Lake Superior around Washington Island are notoriously dangerous, however, and inexperienced kayakers are not encouraged to navigate them. Many Great Lakes boats and

lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

s have succumbed to the stormy waters that surround Washington Island. The nearby 1908 lighthouse and light tower,

Rock of Ages Light The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping () approximately west of Washington Island and west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan (''see map below''). It is an active ...

, tries to warn boats away from these dangerous waters. The federal government has also constructed a radio beacon tower on Washington Island's eastern tip, facing Isle Royale. Passenger ferry vessels that circumnavigate the Isle Royale archipelago use Grace Harbor as a navigable sound, and pass close by Washington Island.

Points of interest

References

{{authority control Islands of Keweenaw County, Michigan Uninhabited islands of Michigan Islands of Lake Superior in Michigan Isle Royale National Park