Bete Grise (from the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

''Bête grise'', "Gray Beast") is the name given to an

unincorporated place An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

, a county-owned public

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

on that bay, a nearby

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

and two neighboring nature preserves in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Located in Grant Township in

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ) is a county in the western Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total ...

in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

, local legend holds that the sand of the beach "sings."

Local legend

Local legend says that the musical "voice" that emanates from the sand is that of a Native American maid who lost her lover to the Great Lakes and still calls to him from the shore with the aid of visitors who "play" the sand. The sand can be made to "sing" by pressing down with the palm of the hand or "bark" when struck. The sand supposedly loses its musical properties when removed from the beach. It is said that the beach was named due to sightings of a strange gray creature that roamed the area. Another local legend is that when the Native Americans burned off the blueberry bogs next to Bete Gris after the harvest, the smoke rolling across the bay looked like a gray beast.

Geography and location

The community of Bete Grise, once a bustling location during the Copper Mining days complete with school, church and general store, is now home to approximately a dozen-and-a-half residences lining Bete Grise Bay. Bete Grise Beach is located off US 41, on an peninsula between the inland lake Lac La Belle and Lake Superior, on the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

of the

of Michigan. The Northern half of the beach is easily accessible by paved road. The Southern half of the beach, "Bete Grise South," is most easily reached by boat and is part of two designated nature preserves: the Bete Grise Nature Preserve and the Bete Grise Wetlands Nature Preserve. The beach is bisected by the dredged Mendota Ship Canal. The historic Bete Grise (Mendota) Light is restored and in private hands on Bete Gris South. The Houghton-Keweenaw Conservation District's Bete Grise Preserve is 5,000 acres of "diverse

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

types," including shoreline stretching for more than 5.5 miles along

. It is a designated nature protected area which lies between Oliver Bay along Gay-Lac La Belle Road to Bete Grise..

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

owns the Bete Grise Wetlands Preserve, consisting of a 62-acre strip of land immediately adjacent to the Mendota Ship Canal. Bete Grise Bay is also a designated "Harbor of Refuge" on

by the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...

References

*" Weird Michigan" by

Linda S. Godfrey Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...

, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (2006) , . * Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau.(2009
Bete Grise Preserve
* Manarolla, M.(2005)

KeweenawNOW.

External links

Bete Grise Preserve
– from the Houghton-Keweenaw Conservation District.
Bete Grise South Preserve
– from The Keweenaw Land Trust
Bete Grise Wetlands Preserve
– from The Nature Conservancy. Beaches of Michigan Landforms of Keweenaw County, Michigan Bays of Michigan Bays of Lake Superior {{KeweenawCountyMI-geo-stub