Whitefish Bay

For the Great Lakes freighter, see Whitefish Bay (2013 ship).

There is also the village of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan.

Whitefish Bay
Chippewa County, Michigan and Whitefish Bay on the south shore of Lake Superior.
Location	Chippewa County, Michigan^[1]
Coordinates	46°42′8″N 84°47′20″W / 46.70222°N 84.78889°W / 46.70222; -84.78889Coordinates: 46°42′8″N 84°47′20″W / 46.70222°N 84.78889°W / 46.70222; -84.78889
Type	Bay^[1]

Surface elevation	604 feet (184 m)^[1]

Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of the southern shore of Lake Superior between Michigan and Ontario. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan, about 10 miles north of Paradise, and the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie on the southeast. On the Ontario side, the bay is bordered by the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield. The international boundary runs through the bay, which is heavily used by shipping traffic northbound from and southbound to the Soo Locks. The Whitefish Point Light marks the entry of the bay, Ile Parisienne Light^[2] is in the middle of the bay, and Point Iroquois Light lies near the mouth of the bay and the approach to the Soo Locks.

After the Soo Locks opened in 1855 and ship traffic increased on Lake Superior, Whitefish Bay was the site of numerous shipwrecks, often due to hazardous weather. The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established to preserve many of the shipwrecks of Whitefish Bay for future generations of sports divers. Known wrecks include the ships Comet, John B. Cowle, Drake, Samuel Mather, Miztec, Myron, Niagara, John M. Osborn, Sagamore, Superior City, and Vienna.^[3]

Whitefish Point is the home of a former United States Coast Guard station; Whitefish Point Lighthouse is the oldest active light on Lake Superior. Part of the lighthouse station houses the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. It holds artifacts from the above shipwrecks and has information on the notable wreck of SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, in which all 29 crew were lost.

The Point is a popular place for rock collectors, ship watchers, and spectacular bird watching. Whitefish Point's land and water provides a natural corridor for birds that makes it a migratory route of world significance.^[4] It is a designated Important Bird Area^[5] where the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory^[6] conducts important research.

Near Whitefish Point Lighthouse in August 2010

Big Bay looking north

References

1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whitefish Bay
↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Western Ontario". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
↑ Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
↑ "Whitefish Point - Important Bird Area". National Audubon Society 2010. Important Bird Areas in the U.S. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
↑ "Michigan IBA Blog". Retrieved 17 November 2008.
↑ "WPBO Research". Retrieved 17 November 2008.

External links

Protected areas of Michigan

See also: Important Bird Areas of Michigan

National

Parks	Isle Royale Keweenaw (Historical) River Raisin (Battlefield)

Lakeshores	Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes

Landmarks	Black Spruce Bog Natural Area Dead Stream Swamp Dukes Research Natural Area Grand Mere Lakes Haven Hill State Natural Area Newton Woods Porcupine Mountains Roscommon Virgin Pine Stand Strangmoor Bog Tobico Marsh Toumey Woods Warren Woods State Park

Forests	Hiawatha Huron-Manistee Ottawa

Wildlife Refuges	Detroit River Harbor Island Huron Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Michigan Islands Michigan Wetland Management District Seney Shiawassee

Other	Grand Island National Recreation Area Father Marquette National Memorial Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

State

Parks	Algonac Aloha Baraga Belle Isle Bewabic Brimley Burt Lake Cambridge Junction Cheboygan Clear Lake Coldwater Lake Craig Lake Dodge #4 Duck Lake Fayette Fisherman's Island Fort Michilimackinac Fort Wilkins Grand Haven Grand Mere Harrisville Hart-Montague Trail Hartwick Pines Hayes Mill Creek P.H. Hoeft P.J. Hoffmaster Holland Indian Lake Interlochen Kal-Haven Trail Lake Gogebic Lakelands Trail Lakeport Leelanau Ludington Mackinac Island Maybury F.J. McLain Mears Meridian-Baseline Mitchell Muskallonge Lake Muskegon Negwegon Newaygo North Higgins Lake Onaway Orchard Beach Otsego Lake Palms Book Petoskey Porcupine Mountains Port Crescent Rockport Sanilac Petroglyphs Saugatuck Dunes Seven Lakes Silver Lake Sleeper Sleepy Hollow South Higgins Lake Sterling Straits Tahquamenon Falls Tawas Point Thompson's Harbor Traverse City Twin Lakes Van Buren Van Buren Trail Van Riper Warren Dunes Warren Woods Wells White Pine Trail Wilderness William G. Milliken Wilson Young

Recreation Areas	Bald Mountain Bass River Bay City Brighton Fort Custer Highland Holly Ionia Island Lake Lake Hudson Menominee River Metamora-Hadley Ortonville Pinckney Pontiac Lake Proud Lake Rifle River Waterloo Wetzel Yankee Springs

Forests	Au Sable Copper Country Escanaba River Lake Superior Mackinaw Pere Marquette

Underwater Preserves	Alger De Tour Passage Grand Traverse Bay Keweenau Manitou Passage Marquette Sanilac Shores Southwest Michigan Straits of Mackinac Thumb Area Whitefish Point

Other (inc. game areas)	Agate Falls Scenic Site Allegan State Game Area Bond Falls Scenic Site Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site Michigan Islands Wilderness Area Pointe Mouillee State Game Area Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Sturgeon Point Scenic Site Wagner Falls Scenic Site

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Authority control	LCCN: sh90005128

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