Why is Lake Superior called Gitche Gumee?
The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi-gami (in syllabics: ᑭᒋᑲᒥ, pronounced gitchi-gami or kitchi-gami in different dialects), meaning “great sea”. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as “Gitche Gumee” in the poem The Song of Hiawatha, as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.
What is unique about Lake Superior?
The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is 27 feet, making it easily the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes. Underwater visibility in places reaches 100 feet. Lake Superior has been described as “the most oligotrophic lake in the world.”
Why is Lake Superior important?
The largest fresh body of water in the world by surface area, Lake Superior, supports commerce, impacts weather, provides sporting and tourism activities and is a vital part of the world’s fresh water resource.
What is a November witch storm?
The November Witch, sometimes phrased as “the Witch of November,” is a popular name for the frequent and brutal system of windy storms that come screaming across the Great Lakes from Canada every autumn.
What Great Lake was known as Gitche Gumee?
Lake Lake Superior
Home The Lake Lake Superior Why Is the Big Lake Called ‘Gitche Gumee? ‘
Did they ever find the bodies from the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Although the captain of the Fitzgerald reported having difficulties during the storm, no distress signals were sent. The entire crew of 29 people died when the vessel sank. No bodies were ever recovered from the wreckage. Later when the wreck was found, it was discovered that the ship had broken in two.
Does Lake Superior ever freeze over?
Lake Superior freezes at least in part every year and less frequently in its entirety. The last year that it froze completely was in February 1994. It almost froze completely in March 2003 and this photograph was taken by the GOES satellite on March 7, 2003.
Why is Lake Superior red?
The reddish color comes from sunlight reflecting and refracting off the sandy lake bottom in shallow water. The lake is just one of the colorful features at the 73,000-acre park, which sits along Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.