We had a great day for the start of our Upper Peninsula trip. We spent a few hours in the St. Ignace library learning about Michigan glacial history from 21,000 years ago to the present. During this deglacial time, water levels of the Great Lakes fluctuated and there is evidence of these past lake levels in the land around us. We learned about Glacial Lakes Algonquin and Nipissing stages to prepare to go see the evidence on Mackinac Island in the afternoon. We also spent some time sedimentary rocks, how they form, and specifically the Michigan Basin. Students got to make their own mini Michigan Basins with Play-Doh – who doesn’t like acting like a little kid with Play-Doh again!

We split up into a few group for the bike adventure around Mackinac Island. My group did about 10.6 miles and made it to the very top of Mackinac Island. All around the island, there are prominent rock features composed of Mackinac Breccia (our students now know all about!) that are shoreline features from glacial Lake Nipissing (water level was ~50 feet above present-day Lake Huron) and glacial Lake Algonquin (water level was ~221 feet above present-day Lake Huron). And yes, because water level was so much higher, students had to bike up, up, up the island to see those glacial Lake Algonquin features!