Michipicoten Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, in the northeastern part of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, about northwest of Sault Ste. Marie and southwest of

Wawa, Ontario Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario in the Algoma District. Formerly known as the Township of Michipicoten, named after a nearby river of that name, the township was officially renamed in 2007 for its largest and best-known com ...

. At its closest point to mainland Ontario, the island is located about from the mainland. It falls within the boundaries of Thunder Bay District. The third largest island in Lake Superior (after

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

)and St. Ignace Island, Michipicoten Island is long and wide at its widest point. Most of the lands of Michipicoten Island, as well as smaller islands, shoals, and waters which surround it to within , were regulated as Michipicoten Island Provincial Park in 1985. Despite attempts to develop a comprehensive park management plan in the early- to mid-2000s, it continues to be administered by

Ontario Parks Ontario Parks is a branch of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in Ontario, Canada, that protects significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas that is sustainable and provides opportuniti ...

under an interim management statement developed in 1986. During the spring, summer, and fall, the island is inhabited or regularly visited by the owners of camps located on a small number of private inholdings, commercial fishers, and clients of a commercial outpost camp. It has become a destination for some adventurous

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

ers. In the winter, due mainly to reasons of remoteness and difficulty of access, the island is usually uninhabited. Michipicoten Island has plentiful wildlife (notably

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations: * Boreal woodland caribou * Migratory woodland caribou See also * Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a provi ...

, and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s). It is located in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest region. The island is made up of ancient

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

bedrock related to volcanism of the

Midcontinent Rift System The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) or Keweenawan Rift is a long geological rift in the center of the North American continent and south-central part of the North American plate. It formed when the continent's core, the North American craton, ...

and is heavily forested, with over 20 inland lakes. It has a rugged interior, containing east-west aligned ridges with gentle southern slopes and steep northern slopes. The highest point is above Lake Superior. A lighthouse was established in 1912 on the eastern end of the island. It was staffed until 1988. On some old maps, Michipicoten Island is shown as ''Isle Maurepas'', after the French minister of Marine Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas. The word ''Michipicoten'' is an Anglicization of the original

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

word ''Mishipikwadina'', meaning "big bluffs" in

, and is a reference to the geography of the nearby

Michipicoten River The Michipicoten River is a river in Algoma District of northern Ontario, Canada, which flows from Dog Lake and joins with the Magpie River to empty into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. This river is in length (includ ...

. Mishipeshu, a powerful creature in the

traditional beliefs A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

of some Native American tribes―particularly

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawa ...

tribes, the

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They h ...

, and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, of the Great Lakes region of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

―is traditionally said to make his home on Michipicoten Island.

Woodland caribou

Michipicoten Island played host to an indigenous caribou population until the herd's extirpation, as a result of overhunting, in the mid-1800s. In 1981, a lone male caribou was observed on the island; how it arrived there remains unknown. In 1982, additional caribou - one male, three adult females and three female calves - were moved to the island from the

Slate Islands The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides, lying immediately off the west coast of Scotland, north of Jura and southwest of Oban. The main islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua. Scarba and Kerrera, ...

by the

Ministry of Natural Resources An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. An additional male was translocated in 1989. From the time of these relocations to 2001, the herd population increased at

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to arrive at approximately 160 animals in 2001. A population determination performed in 2011 concluded that the herd had grown to 680 animals. At times, the rate of population growth was among the fastest ever recorded for caribou. In the winter of 2014, four wolves transited to Michipicoten Island. This was facilitated by an ice bridge which had formed between the island and the mainland. The wolf population had more than tripled by the winter of 2016/2017. The caribou population of Michipicoten Island is scientifically significant because it manifests an opportunity to apply A. T. Bergerud's proposed test to assess the viability of the range hypothesis versus the predation hypothesis for providing a credible explanation for caribou population decline. Adapted to Michipicoten Island, Bergerud's proposed test was two-part: First, the caribou population on Michipicoten Island should increase despite the lack of

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

in 2018.

References

External links

Ontario government documents regarding Michipicoten IslandDescription of a commercial kayaking trip to Michipicoten Island, with information about the island
* ttp://www.seakayakermag.com/2011/Dec11/michipicoten.htmStory of two sea kayakers rescued by the Coast Guard off Michipicoten Island {{Authority control Provincial parks of Ontario Uninhabited islands of Ontario Islands of Lake Superior in Ontario Parks in Thunder Bay District Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Ontario