Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve
Encyclopedia
The Thumb Area Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in Lake Huron
in the U.S. state of Michigan
. It is 276 square miles (714.8 km²) in size and is located off Michigan's Thumb
north of Detroit.
and the beach port towns of Harbor Beach
, Huron City, and Port Austin
. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has counted 10 known shipwreck
s within the boundaries protected by the preserve.
As in most of the Great Lakes
, most of the shipwrecks predate the consolidation of federal marine safety services into the United States Coast Guard
in 1915.
The foundered SS Daniel J. Morrell
, a lake freighter
which split in two and sank in 1966 with a loss of 28 lives, also lies off the shore of Michigan's Thumb, but outside the boundaries of the Underwater Preserve.
The Underwater Preserve protects a network of limestone sea caves off Port Austin. Near Port Austin is the largely depopulated former town of Grindstone City, where grindstones
were quarried. Some of the specialized stones were lost overboard near the quarries and can be seen underwater as of 2009.
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
in the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is 276 square miles (714.8 km²) in size and is located off Michigan's Thumb
The Thumb
The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten; thus the Thumb is the area that looks like the thumb of the mitten. The Thumb is generally considered to be in the Mid-Michigan area of the state, located east of Flint/Tri-Cities...
north of Detroit.
Description
The Thumb Area Underwater Preserve protects bottomlands off Pointe aux BarquesPointe aux Barques Light
The Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse ranks among the ten oldest lighthouses in Michigan. It is an active lighthouse maintained by the US Coast Guard remotely, located in Lighthouse County Park on Lake Huron near Port Hope, Michigan in Huron County...
and the beach port towns of Harbor Beach
Harbor Beach, Michigan
Harbor Beach is a city in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,837 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 1,587 in 2009.-Geography:...
, Huron City, and Port Austin
Port Austin, Michigan
Port Austin is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 737 at the 2000 census. The village is within Port Austin Township.-Geography:...
. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has counted 10 known shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s within the boundaries protected by the preserve.
As in most of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, most of the shipwrecks predate the consolidation of federal marine safety services into the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
in 1915.
The foundered SS Daniel J. Morrell
SS Daniel J. Morrell
The SS Daniel J. Morrell was a Great Lakes freighter that broke up in a strong storm on Lake Huron on 29 November 1966, taking with it 28 of its 29 crewmen. The freighter was used to carry bulk cargos such as iron ore but was running with only ballast when the 60-year-old boat sank.-The Ship's...
, a lake freighter
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...
which split in two and sank in 1966 with a loss of 28 lives, also lies off the shore of Michigan's Thumb, but outside the boundaries of the Underwater Preserve.
The Underwater Preserve protects a network of limestone sea caves off Port Austin. Near Port Austin is the largely depopulated former town of Grindstone City, where grindstones
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
were quarried. Some of the specialized stones were lost overboard near the quarries and can be seen underwater as of 2009.
External links
- Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve Michigan Underwater Preserve CouncilMichigan Underwater Preserve CouncilThe Michigan Underwater Preserve Council or MUPC is a private, non-profit, volunteer driven organization that oversees activities relating to all of Michigan's Underwater Preserves...