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Map of Isle Royale

Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior. The island and the surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park. It is pronounced /ˌaɪlˈrɔɪəl/, with a long I in Isle and the accent on the first syllable of Royale, not the second.^[1] In French, "Isle" is now spelled Île.

The island is 45 miles (72 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide, with an area of 206.73 square miles (535.43 km²), making it the largest natural island in Lake Superior, the second largest island in the Great Lakes after Manitoulin Island, and the 32nd largest island in the United States. It is defined by the United States Census Bureau as Census Tract 9603 of Keweenaw County, Michigan. As of the 2000 census there was no permanent population.^[2] After the island was made a national park, some existing residents were allowed to stay;^[3] there are none left now. Ferries from Michigan and Minnesota land at Rock Harbor on the eastern end of the island; this has a lodge, campground, and information center. Ferries from Minnesota also run to Windigo on the western end, which has a visitor center and campground.

Isle Royale is United States territory (even though it is closer to the Canadian coastline) and is part of the state of Michigan (though it is much closer to Minnesota). In 1875, Isle Royale was set off from Keweenaw County as a separate county, "Isle Royale County". In 1897, the county was dissolved, and the island was reincorporated into Keweenaw County. The highest point on the island is Mount Desor at 1,394 feet (425 m), or about 800 feet (240 m) above lake level.

Isle Royale is within about 15 miles (24 km) of the Canadian shore of the lake, near the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and is 56 miles (90 km) from the Michigan shore, on the Keweenaw Peninsula. There are seasonal passenger ferry services to the island from Grand Portage, Minnesota; Copper Harbor, Michigan; and Houghton, Michigan. There is also a seasonal sea plane service. There are no roads on the island, and, in fact, no wheeled vehicles or devices, other than wheelchairs, are permitted.^[4]

The island was a common hunting ground for native peoples from nearby Minnesota/Ontario. A canoe voyage of only a few miles was necessary to reach the island's west end from the mainland. Native peoples also noticed surface veins of native copper, which could be removed with stone tools. In the 19th century, several efforts were made to exploit this resource commercially, but the remoteness of the island, combined with the small veins of copper, caused most to fail quickly. Between the miners and commercial loggers, much of the island was deforested during the late 19th century. Once the island became a National Park, logging and other exploitive activities ended, and the forest began to regenerate.

The island was once the site of several lake trout and whitefish fisheries, as well as a few resorts. Today it has no permanent inhabitants; the small communities of Scandinavian fishermen were removed by the United States Park Service after the island became a national park in the 1930s. There are still a few families that claim Isle Royale as their heritage and several descendant fishermen still fish the Isle Royale waters commercially.^[3] The western tip of the island is home to several shipwrecks that are very popular with scuba divers, including the SS America.^[5]

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Cross-section of the Lake Superior basin showing the tilted strata of volcanic rock that form Isle Royale

The island is composed largely of ridges, running roughly southwest-to-northeast. The main ridge, Greenstone Ridge, is over 1,000 feet (300 m) in many places. According to the National Park Service, the North sides of the ridges tend to be steeper than the South sides. Coastal areas were once submerged beneath prehistoric lake waters, and contain many tumbled boulders and other large rocks. Topsoil tends to be thin, and trees often sprout thick horizontal roots for support.

The ancient bedrock contained minor deposits of native copper, few of which proved profitable to 19th century mining companies.

• Chicken Bone Lake
• Lake Desor
• Feldtmann Lake
• Intermediate Lake
• Lake Richie
• Sargent Lake
• Siskiwit Lake, largest lake on the island; cold, deep, clear, and relatively low in nutrients.^[6]

The presence of islands in Siskiwit Lake results in islands in lakes within an island within a lake.

Beach near mouth of Washington Creek

Isle Royale is primarily known for hiking, fishing, and observing nature. The island is covered in wilderness trails, some of which are quite challenging, with steep grades. There are numerous campgrounds, many of which are only accessible by water. There are only two small settlements on the island proper: Rock Harbor, which has a resort and basic amenities, and Windigo, a smaller facility on the far western end of the island. Both have pay showers and food available.

When visiting Isle Royale, one is likely to encounter groups of Boy Scouts. The island is a convenient spot to earn the 50-mile backpacking merit badge. The badge can be had in a week here, though it is a tough trek across the island to earn it.

Shelter at Windigo camp area

A typical National Park Service campground consists of a small number of shelters (cabin-like structures with one wall consisting of mosquito-proof screen; campers sleep on a wood floor inside), individual tent sites with picnic table, and group camping sites. There are one or more pit toilets at each facility. Campgrounds along the shore have a boat dock, and overnight boaters are a common sight at some campgrounds. Of course, waterfront locations also attract canoeists and kayakers. No wells are available, thus all water must be filtered or thoroughly boiled to prevent infection by parasites & bacteria.

Beach at Huginnin Cove camp area

View from the top of Mount Franklin looking north

A number of habitats exist on the island, the primary being Boreal Forest, similar to neighboring Ontario and Minnesota. Upland areas along some of the ridges are effectively "balds" with exposed bedrock and a few scrubby trees, blueberry bushes, and hardy grasses. Occasional marshes exist, which are typically the by-product of beaver activities. There are also several lakes, often with wooded or marshy shores. The climate, especially in lowland areas, is heavily influenced by the cold waters of Lake Superior.

The island is well known among ecologists as the site of a long-term study of a predator-prey system, between moose and wolves. There is a cyclical relationship between the two animals: as the moose increase in population, the wolves do also. Eventually, the wolves kill too many moose and begin to starve/lower reproductive rates. However, the introduction of canine parvovirus by a guest's (illegal) dog to the wolf population led to steep declines in the early 1980s. Another concern is the gradual aging of the ecosystems on Isle Royale. The boreal forest is maturing, leading to a decrease in the types of plants most favored by moose. Park management suppresses the natural fire-cycle which would otherwise renew sections of habitat to be more favorable for moose.

Before the self-introduction of wolves to the island (crossing winter ice from Ontario), coyotes were the primary predators for a time. Prior to that, the lynx dominated, preying on caribou and snowshoe hares. Human activities wiped out both the lynx and caribou, but some hares remain. Other common mammals are red foxes, beavers, red squirrels. Some foxes are quite used to human contact, and can be seen prowling the campgrounds at dawn, looking for stray scraps left by unwary campers. For its part, the wolf is an elusive species which avoids human interaction. Few documented cases of direct wolf/human contact exist.

• Satellite Image of Isle Royale from Google
• Norman King Huber, The geologic story of Isle Royale National Park, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1309 (1975)
• Geological history of Isle Royale
• Isle Royale travel guide from Wikitravel
• Isle Royal Travel Info
• Isle Royale Shipwrecks

Coordinates: 48°0′N, 88°55′W