The ancient origins of, and enduring connections to Lake Superior
About this episode
This episode explores the geological history of Lake Superior and its impact on the local environment and communities.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, one of the largest lakes in the world. And its history stretches back to a stunning geological event in the earth’s history. That event made the Upper Peninsula's Keweenaw Peninsula rich with copper - and it didn't take long for humans to start mining it. The impact of this copper mining boom is evident everywhere you go in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This area has the largest deposit of what’s known as native copper anywhere in the world. And people up here are still dealing with the leftovers. Over the course of the past century, storms have blown the coarse, dark sand down along the shore, and over Buffalo Reef. And those sands and remnants of the copper have impacted fish populations, who love the rocky shore of the reef for spawning, and the tribal fisherman who fish those waters. Support for the production of this podcast was made possible by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, as part of its Great Lakes News Collaborative. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. More at michiganpublic.org/bts
Topics covered
- geology
- copper mining
- environment
- fishing
- Great Lakes
Sponsors
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Michigan Public, Blue Dot Sessions
Places: Lake Superior, Upper Peninsula, Keweenaw Peninsula
More episodes of Beyond the Shore
- Beyond the Shore presents: How Wild from KALW
- The American Storytelling collection explores the great outdoors
- Lake Ontario, Unsafe Passage
- Restoring the dinosaur fish of Lake Erie
- Surfing Lake Michigan
- The hidden shipwrecks of Lake Huron
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