Siskiwit Lake (Isle Royale)

Siskiwit Lake

Isle Royale. Siskiwit Lake is the dark patch in the center
Location Isle Royale
Coordinates 48°00′05″N 088°47′50″W / 48.00139°N 88.79722°W / 48.00139; -88.79722Coordinates: 48°00′05″N 088°47′50″W / 48.00139°N 88.79722°W / 48.00139; -88.79722
Primary outflows Siskiwit River
Basin countries United States
Surface area 4,150 acres (16.8 km2)
Surface elevation 646 ft (197 m)
Islands Ryan

Siskiwit Lake[1] is the largest lake on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. 4,150 acres (16.8 km2) in area,[2] the lake has cold, clear water which is relatively low in nutrients. Tributaries include the Little Siskiwit River, and the lake's outlet is the Siskiwit River which flows into Lake Superior.

Siskiwit Lake is available for fishing, with restrictions (no motorized boats, no natural bait). Lake Trout, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Yellow Perch are found in the lake.[3] A 2004 study of toxaphene concentrations found that concentrations were lower in Siskiwit Lake trout than in Lake Superior trout, possibly due to shorter food chains and greater reliance on zooplankton or other pelagic invertebrates.[4]

Siskiwit Lake contains several lake islands, including Eagle Nest Island, Teakettle Island, Lost and Found Island,[2] and Ryan Island, the largest. Common loons nest and breed on some of these islands.[2]

Ryan Island contains Moose Flats, a seasonal pond, which contains Moose Boulder. When Moose Flats is flooded, Moose Boulder becomes the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world.[5] (Note that the key to the truth of that sentence is the final clause, "in the largest lake in the world" (Lake Superior)[A]Treasure Island (which is larger than Ryan Island) in Lake Mindemoya (which is larger than Siskiwit Lake, but not the largest lake on Manitoulin Island, which is Lake Manitou) on Manitoulin Island (which is larger than Isle Royale) in Lake Huron is believed to be the world's largest island in a lake on an island in a lake. Treasure Island may also contain ponds (as do several lake islands in Manitoulin Island)[6][7][8] which may contain rocky islands larger than Moose Boulder. But Lake Huron is not the largest lake in the world.)[B] (The largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island not in a lake may be an unnamed 4-acre (16,000 m2) island (which has probably never been visited by humans) at 69°47′35″N 108°14′28″W / 69.793°N 108.241°W / 69.793; -108.241 in a lake on an island in a lake on Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic.)[C][9][10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ By surface area, if one considers the Caspian Sea (which contains oceanic basin rather than lying entirely over continental crust) to be an ocean rather than a lake (if not, then Lake Superior is only the largest fresh-water lake), and if one considers Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to be separate lakes, which is usually done popularly and by geographers but not always by hydrologists.
  2. ^ Unless one considers Lake Michigan–Huron to be a single lake (and doesn't consider the Caspian Sea a lake.)
  3. ^ Vulcan Point Island in Crater Lake on Volcano Island in Taal Lake on the island of Luzon in the Philippines is sometimes cited for this, but Vulcan Point Island is less than four acres.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Siskiwit Lake (Isle Royale)
  2. 1 2 3 Kaplan, Joseph D.; Tischler, Keren B. & McCormick, Damon L. (May 1, 2002). "A Breeding Atlas of the Common Loon (Gavia Imer) at Isle Royale National Park, Michigan" (PDF). BioDiversity Research Institute. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  3. "Fishing". Nyx. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  4. Muir, Derek C. G.; Whittle, D. Michael; De Vault, David S.; Bronte, Charles R.; Karlsson, Heidi; Backus, Sean & Teixeira, Camilla (April 2004). "Bioaccumulation of Toxaphene Congeners in the Lake Superior Food Web". Journal of Great Lakes Research. 30 (2): 316–340. doi:10.1016/S0380-1330(04)70350-0. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. Shelton, Napier (1997). Superior Wilderness: Isle Royale National Park. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association. p. 103. ISBN 0-935289-09-7.
  6. "Classifier Instance: Anchor text: Lake Mindemoya Target Entity: Lake_Mindemoya". YAGO-NAGA project. Max Planck Institute. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  7. Adam Bisby (June 19, 2012). "Record-setting spots in Canada". MSN Canada Travel. MSN. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  8. "Manitoulin Island - The Largest Fresh Water Island in the World". QRZ.com. May 5, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  9. Natalie Wolchover (January 24, 2012). "World's Largest Island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island Seen on Google Earth". LiveScience. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  10. Ken Jennings (January 24, 2012). "Ken Jennings Finds One More Thing Canada Has That No One Else Does". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
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