Keweenaw National Historical Park Headquarters.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes
locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points). Pr ...
) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of " Copper Country." As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200. Its major industries are now
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and tourism, as well as jobs related to
Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
and Finlandia University.


Geology

The peninsula measures about 150 miles in length and about 50 miles in width at its base. The ancient
lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...
s of the Keweenaw Peninsula were produced during the Mesoproterozoic Era as a part of the
Midcontinent Rift The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) or Keweenawan Rift is a long geological rift in the center of the North America, North American continent and south-central part of the North American plate. It formed when the continent's core, the North Amer ...
between 1.096 and 1.087 billion years ago. This volcanic activity produced the only strata on Earth where large-scale economically recoverable 97 percent pure native copper is found. Much of the native copper found in the Keweenaw comes in either the form of cavity fillings on lava flow surfaces, which has a ”lacy” consistency, or as "float" copper, which is found as a solid mass. Copper ore may occur within
conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...
or breccia as void or interclast fillings. The conglomerate layers occur as interbedded units within the volcanic pile. The Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale, formed by the Midcontinent Rift System, are the only sites in the United States with evidence of prehistoric aboriginal mining of copper. Artifacts made from this copper by these ancient indigenous people were traded as far south as present-day Alabama. These areas are also the unique location where chlorastrolite, the state gem of Michigan, can be found. The northern end of the peninsula is sometimes referred to as Copper Island (or ''"Kuparisaari"'' by Finnish immigrants), although this term is becoming less common. It is separated from the rest of the peninsula by the
Keweenaw Waterway The Keweenaw Waterway is a partly natural, partly artificial waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan; it separates Copper Island from the mainland. Parts of the waterway are variously known as the Keweenaw Waterway, Portage ...
, a natural waterway which was dredged and expanded in the 1860s across the
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
between the cities of Houghton (named for Douglass Houghton) on the south side and Hancock on the north. A Keweenaw Water Trail has been established around Copper Island. The Water Trail stretches approximately and can be paddled in five to ten days, depending on weather and water conditions. The Keweenaw Fault runs fairly lengthwise through both Keweenaw and neighboring Houghton counties. This ancient geological slip has given rise to cliffs. U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and Brockway Mountain Drive, north of Calumet, were constructed along the cliff line.


Climate

Lake Superior significantly controls the climate of the Keweenaw Peninsula, keeping winters milder than those in surrounding areas. Spring is cool and brief, transitioning into a summer with highs near . Fall begins in September, with winter beginning in mid-November. The peninsula receives copious amounts of
lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...
from Lake Superior. Official records are maintained close to the base of the peninsula in Hancock, Michigan, where the annual snowfall average is about . Farther north, in a community called Delaware, an unofficial average of about is maintained. At Delaware, the record snowfall for one season was in 1979. Averages over certainly occur in the higher elevations closer to the tip of the peninsula.


History

Beginning as early as seven thousand years ago and apparently peaking around 3000 B.C., Native Americans dug copper from the southern shore of Lake Superior. This development was possible in large part because, in this region, large deposits of copper were easily accessible in surface rock and from shallow diggings. Native copper could be found as large nuggets and wiry masses. Copper as a resource for functional tooling achieved popularity around 3000 B.C., during the Middle Archaic Stage. The focus of copper working seems to have gradually shifted from functional tools to ornamental objects by the Late Archaic Stage c. 1200 B.C. Native Americans would build a fire to heat the rock around and over a copper mass and, after heating, pour on cold water to crack the rock. The copper was then pounded out, using rock hammers and stone chisels. The Keweenaw's rich deposits of copper (and some silver) were extracted on an industrial scale beginning around the middle of the 19th century. The industry grew through the latter part of the century and employed thousands of people well into the 20th century. Hard rock mining in the region ceased in 1967 though copper sulfide deposits continued for some time after in Ontonagon. This vigorous industry created a need for educated mining professionals and directly led in 1885 to the founding of the Michigan Mining School (now
Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
) in Houghton. Although MTU discontinued its undergraduate mining engineering program in 2006, the university continues to offer engineering degrees in a variety of other disciplines. (In 2012 mining engineering was restarted in the re-formed Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.) Running concurrently with the mining boom in the Keweenaw was the white pine lumber boom. Trees were cut for timbers for mine shafts, to heat the communities around the large copper mines, and to help build a growing nation. Much of the logging at the time was done in winter due to the ease of operability with the snow. Due to the logging practices at that time, the forest of the Keweenaw looks much different today from 100 years ago. US 41 terminates in the northern Keweenaw at the Michigan State Park housing Fort Wilkins. US 41 was the so-called "Military Trail" that started in Chicago in the 1900s and ended in the Keweenaw wilderness. The restored fort has numerous exhibits. For detailed information on the region's mineralogical history, see the virtual tour of the peninsula written by the Mineralogical Society of America, found in "External links" on this page. Information on the geological formations of the region are also detailed. From 1964 to 1971, the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University cooperated with NASA and the U.S. Navy to run the Keweenaw Rocket launch site.


Communities

A partial list of towns in the Keweenaw Peninsula: * Ahmeek *Albion * Allouez * Atlantic Mine *
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
*
Bete Grise Bete Grise (from the French ''Bête grise'', "Gray Beast") is a nature preserve on Keweenaw Peninsula, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, beach and bay on Lake Superior, where the sand is said to "sing" in situ. It is located in Grant Townshi ...
* Blue Jacket *Boot Jack Point * Bumbletown *
Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...
* Centennial * Centennial Heights *
Central Mine Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
* Chassell *Chickensville *
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
*
Copper Falls Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-or ...
*
Copper Harbor Copper Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Grant Township. The population of the CDP was 136 as of the 2020 census. The community ...
* Craig * Delaware * Dodgeville * Dollar Bay * Dreamland *
Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor may refer to several places in the United States: * Eagle Harbor, a development on Fleming Island, Florida * Eagle Harbor, Maryland, a town * Eagle Harbor, Michigan, an unincorporated community and census-designated place ** Eagle Har ...
* Eagle River * Florida location *
Freda Freda may refer to: * Frida (given name), also spelled ''Freda'' * Freda (surname) * Freda (character) from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy * Ford Freda, a motor vehicle introduced in the Japanese market in 1995 * Freda Sandstone, a member of t ...
* Gay * Gratiot location * Gregoryville * Hancock * Hecla Location *Henwood * Houghton * Hubbell * Hurontown * Jacobsville * Kearsarge * Lac La Belle *
Lake Linden Lake Linden is a village in Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,007 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly within Schoolcraft Township, though a tiny portion lies in Torch Lake Township. History Lake Linden ...
* Lake Medora * Laurium *Linwood * Little Betsy * Mandan *
Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
*Mellonsville * Mohawk *
Misery Bay Misery Bay is a freshwater bay on Manitoulin Island in Ontario. It is noted for its alvars and large dolomite pavements ground flat by glaciers. It also contains grykes and ecologically significant wetlands. History Misery Bay was covered b ...
* Ojibway * Old Victoria * Osceola * Painesdale * Pelkie * Phillipsville * Phoenix * Pryor's Location * Quincy *Rabbit Bay *Raymbaultown Location *Red Jacket * Redridge *
Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...
* Seeberville * Seneca location *Senter * South Kearsarge location * South Range * Swedetown *
Tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...
*
Tapiola Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...
*Tecumseh * Toivola *
Trimountain Trimountain or Tri-mountain, est. , is a traprock mountain located southeast of Meriden, Connecticut. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut ...
* West Tamarack *
White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...
* Wyoming location (Helltown) * Yellow Jacket


See also

* Copper mining in Michigan * Keweenaw National Historical Park * Thimbleberry


References


Further reading

* *. *, focuses on three companies, Calumet & Hecla, Copper Range, and Quincy, in a study of native copper mining and copper-sulfide mining on Upper Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. *. ;Primary sources *.


External links


Keweenaw Convention & Visitors BureauKeweenaw Peninsula Chamber of CommerceKeweenaw Time TravelerCopper Country Explorer
{{Authority control Copper mines in Michigan Peninsulas of Michigan Regions of Michigan Upper Peninsula of Michigan Landforms of Houghton County, Michigan Landforms of Keweenaw County, Michigan Geography of Houghton County, Michigan Geography of Keweenaw County, Michigan Volcanism of Michigan Rift volcanism Extinct volcanism