Gravel Island (Wisconsin)

Gravel Island is an island in Lake Michigan. It is located in Ellison Bay, in the town of Liberty Grove, Wisconsin.[1][2] The Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge is made up of Gravel Island, and nearby Spider Island. The island is uninhabited,[3] and a botanist who visited in 1999 was unable to find any vascular plants on the island.[4]

Gravel Island
Ecological Services crew banding on Gravel Island, 1988
Gravel Island is located in Wisconsin
Gravel Island
Gravel Island
Gravel Island is located in the United States
Gravel Island
Gravel Island
Geography
LocationDoor County, Wisconsin
Coordinates45°15′13″N 86°57′46″W
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Highest elevation581 ft (177.1 m)
Administration
StateWisconsin
CountyDoor County
TownLiberty Grove

In 2022, a large number of dead Caspian terns were found on Gravel Island, which were part of a larger die-off on Lake Michigan islands due to avian influenza.[5]

Native American name

A Native American name for the island is Mah-ko-me-ne-shine-me-nis or "Bear Island". A legend published in the early 1900s relates an incident four hundred years prior where a spirit bear was seen crossing the lake from the east shore. The Potawatomi beckoned him ashore. Since then they call the island Old Bear Cub island.[6]

Climate
Gravel Island
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
66
 
 
−4
−9
 
 
60
 
 
−8
−10
 
 
62
 
 
0
−4
 
 
112
 
 
3
0
 
 
86
 
 
9
3
 
 
77
 
 
13
10
 
 
96
 
 
18
16
 
 
73
 
 
19
16
 
 
109
 
 
17
14
 
 
119
 
 
10
7
 
 
110
 
 
6
5
 
 
66
 
 
4
1
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [7]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.6
 
 
25
16
 
 
2.4
 
 
18
14
 
 
2.4
 
 
32
25
 
 
4.4
 
 
37
32
 
 
3.4
 
 
48
37
 
 
3
 
 
55
50
 
 
3.8
 
 
64
61
 
 
2.9
 
 
66
61
 
 
4.3
 
 
63
57
 
 
4.7
 
 
50
45
 
 
4.3
 
 
43
41
 
 
2.6
 
 
39
34
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches

References
  1. "Gravel Island". Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. "Door County, Wisconsin map" (PDF). Wisconsin DOT. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. "Gravel Island". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. Flora and Vegetation of the Grand Traverse Islands (Lake Michigan), Wisconsin and Michigan by Emmet J. Judziewicz, The Michigan Botanist, Volume 40, Number 4, October 2001, page 126
  5. Bird flu has killed nearly 1,500 threatened Caspian terns on Lake Michigan islands by Lester Graham, Michigan Radio, republished in GreatLakesNow, June 30, 2022 and 'Catastrophic' avian flu devastates endangered tern colonies in Door County by Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, republished at yahoo.com, July 1, 2022
  6. The Wisconsin Archeologist, Volume 16, No. 4, page 144, section on "Place Names".
  7. "NASA EarthData Search". NASA. Retrieved 30 January 2016.


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