Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Superior. It is 45 miles (74 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide, with an area of about 205 mi² (530 km²). It is United States territory (even though it is closer to the Canadian coastline) and is part of the state of Michigan. Formerly Isle Royale formed a separate county, but was later incorporated into Keweenaw County. The highest point on the island is Mount Desor at 1394 feet (425 m), or about 800 feet (250 m) above lake level.

Isle Royale was once the site of a whitefish fishery, a resort community, and unprofitable copper mines. It was also the site of crude copper mining by Native Americans, centuries earlier. Today it has no permanent inhabitants.

Isle Royale is within about 22 miles (35 km) of the Canadian shore of the lake, near the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and about 50 miles (80 km) from the Michigan shore, on the Keweenaw Peninsula. There are seasonal passenger ferry services to the island from Grand Portage, Minnesota, Copper Harbor and Houghton, Michigan. There are no roads on the island.

The entire island and its surrounding islands and waters now make up Isle Royale National Park. It is well known among ecologists as the site of a long-term study of a predator-prey system, between moose and wolves. Before the self-introduction of wolves to the island (crossing winter ice from Ontario), coyotes were the primary predators. Prior to that, caribou and lynx dominated. Other common mammals are red foxes, beavers, red squirrels, and snowshoe hares.

External Links

• Satellite Image of Isle Royale from Google