Water is extremely important when it comes to shaping Michigan. It has been shaped physically in the forms of glaciers, rivers, and lakes. It has been shaped both physically and socially by the migration of people. Michigan is surrounded by about 20% of the world’s fresh water, known as the Great Lakes. These lakes are maintained by many things including the water cycle, wetlands, wildlife, sand dunes, and many other natural resources. People migrated to Michigan because of its abundance of renewable resources, especially the water. So, how did water shape Michigan?
Michigan’s
Landscape began to take shape during the Ice Age. This “great” Ice Age occurred about two million years ago and lasted about 12,000 years. Four major glacial
advances
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Not only did the “bulldozing” of the glacier transport materials, but so did the meltwater from the glacier. When the glacier retreats, it deposits the debris it picked up. The boundaries of the Great Lakes look like low hills.
These are known as moraines and are the result of glacial deposition (DNR,
n.d.). Due to the fact that the advance and retreat of glaciers is a long process, the Great Lakes were formed from earlier, prehistoric lakes. Some examples of these lakes include Lake Chippewa, Lake Algonquin, and
Lake Nippising. Lake Michigan, Huron, and Superior were actually all a part of the same large lake before the present day Great Lakes were formed (Hough,
2013). Not only were the boundaries of the Great Lakes formed due to transportation and deposition, but the landscape of Michigan was formed as well. Meltwater carried eroded materials over the land and deposited them in other areas of Michigan. The heaviest materials, like boulders, would drop first and the lighter materials, like sand and pebbles, would drop further along the way (DNR, n.d.). Proof of glacial deposits in Michigan can be found by looking at the type of rock that is scattered in different geographic