Overall, Lake Michigan's coloration is caused by a combination of factors. This includes the behavior of light in relation to water depth, refraction, reflection, and suspended particles in the water.
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Sediment, dissolved plant bits, tiny photosynthesizing plankton — they all influence the dance between light and water. So does the angle that sunlight hits the water or the presence of clouds overhead. It seems like every time you look at Lake Michigan, it's a different color.
The blue in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is sediment brought to the surface when strong winds churned the lakes. The green in Lake Erie and in Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay is algae, which builds on the surface when winds are calm.
Water can also appear murky due to the presence of planktonic algae, which are microscopic organisms that create visually dense blooms on the water's surface. Planktonic algae are known to appear in blue, green, brown, and red colors, which are most apparent around the shoreline.
Invasive zebra mussels are mostly responsible for the increased clarity of Lake Michigan. About 25 years ago, Lake Michigan's water was somewhat of a brownish-green color, very different from the pristine blue-green appearance of today.
A north-northeast wind has pushed the warmer surface water along the Michigan shore back toward the middle of Lake Michigan and brought up colder water from well beneath the surface. This process is called upwelling.
Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great LakeBecause of its somewhat isolated location and long cold winters, not much farming is done along Superior's shores. This means lower amounts of nutrients, sediments, and organic material are floating around the lake.
The lake's formation began 1.2 billion years ago when two tectonic plates moving in opposite directions left a giant scar—an event now known as the Midcontinent Rift. Less than 15,000 years ago, melting glaciers filled the giant basin, and Lake Michigan came to be. The lake's maximum depth is 925 feet.
Washing oneself with soap of any kind in a lake, pond, river, or ocean is terrible for the environment. Even if the bottle is labeled biodegradable, natural, or organic, it's still bad.
Two Coho fishermen pulled a 29-inch shark from Lake Michigan about two miles off the Milwaukee shore on April 25, 1969. The shark was dead, but for several days fishermen in the area were uneasy.
While certain states have given up some shoreline ownership to private citizens, the public always has access to the water. In Michigan, private shoreline property stretches to the water's edge, but private beaches are treated like thoroughfares, with foot traffic allowed up to the natural high water mark.