MICHIGAN BEACHES
ventifacts Rocks smoothed from wind erosion Angular Smooth on 1-2 sides
Formation of Dunes Sand supply –glaciers (MI) prevailing wind –westerly blockade –moraines (MI)
Michigan Dunes Form on the EAST side of Of the Great Lakes
DUNE FORMATION
Pinery
Ludington
Sleeping Bear
Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes Perched dune On top of a moraine
The Sleeping Bear
Long ago, in the land that is today Wisconsin, Mother Bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The cubs swam strongly but the distance and the water proved too much for them. They fell further and further behind and ultimately slipped beneath the waves. When Mother Bear reached the Michigan shore, she climbed to the top of a bluff and peered back across the water, searching vainly for her cubs. The Great Spirit saw her and took pity on her plight. He raised North and South Manitou Islands to mark the place where her cubs vanished and laid a slumber upon Mother Bear. -Ojibway Indian Legend
1995 slide
Silver Lake
SILVER LAKE
Dune Erosion Due to –lack of plants/trees –human activity –bad weather
Dune erosion Which direction will this dune move? How to stabilize this dune? windward leeward wind
You can help protect the dunes by: staying on paths, not littering, by leaving plants and wildlife in place
BARCHAN DUNES (overhead view)
Dune sand Abrasion –Creates “frosted grains” –angular mainly quartz –hard –Plentiful
Dune sand : angular pieces of…
Sagutuck, MI
Ogden Dunes. IN Lake MI 1986
Lake Erie House
Loess Wind blown dust Yellowish
WAVE EROSION
CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE
Lake Michigan
Rip-rap
Lake Michigan Lakeshore Drive
1 YEAR AFTER $20 MILL. BEACH NOURISHMENT Upham Beach, FL
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