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.
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It gets more complicated when there are suspended solids in the water. The solids reflect light, making the color of the lake seem greenish or murky. Lake Michigan looks bluer than it did in the past. Clearer, bluer water is a sign that something is removing phytoplankton, which includes a form of green algae.
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.
Pollution. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are generally considered the most polluted of the Great Lakes, but Lake Michigan's waters also contain an unacceptable level of pollutants. Most of the pollution is plastic waste, though, which poses little risk to swimmers.
Lake Michigan: No more than 1 MI serving per month. Portage Lake in Houghton County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Gull Lake in Kalamazoo County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Higgins Lake in Roscommon County: No more than 4 MI servings per month.
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.
The Great Lakes are not (noticeably) salty because water flows into them as well as out of them, carrying away the low concentrations of minerals in the water, writes Michael Moore of Toronto. Eventually, this water, with its small load of dissolved minerals or salts, reaches the sea.
Though not as warm as the oceans, temperatures of Lake Michigan do rise to the high 60s in July and August to make swimming enjoyable, and definitely refreshing! Rarely do temperatures make it to the 70s, unless air temperatures stay up in the 90's for many continuous days.
Climate change is fueling more extreme Lake Michigan Water levels, along with stronger winds and heavier storms. These conditions exacerbate erosion, beach loss, and damage along the shore.
Lake Michigan has the longest stretch from north to south of all the Great Lakes, giving it a very diverse climate, which allows for a wide variety of plant and animal species. The lake boasts a variety of natural habitats, including tallgrass prairies, wide savannas, and the world's largest freshwater sand dunes.
The deepest Great Lake is Lake Superior with a maximum depth of 1,333 feet. Lake Michigan is connected to Lake Huron in its north end by a 5-mile wide canal at the Straits of Mackinac, thus making the two bodies into a single lake called Lake Michigan-Huron.
Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely contained within the United States. The lake borders Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Connected to Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac, the two lakes technically behave like one big water body.