Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Leelanau County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Sand and Ice

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., August 27, 2016

1. Sand and Ice Marker

Inscription.

Without departed glaciers the dunes would not be here. Melting continental ice left this ridge of sand and gravel. Steady winds off Lake Michigan have plucked at the sand grains, propelling them inland, depositing a veneer of dunes on top of the glacial ridge. Even now the dune is adrift, as part of the slope advances toward Glen Lake. Pick out a nearby tree or shrub; return in a few years and it may be buried.

Beyond this wall of sand is a windswept plateau covered with small stones, an occasional ice-abandoned boulder, a few tufts of vegetation, and sculpted dunes. On this side are good views of Glen Lake. But it is an hour's hike to the steep bluffs 400 feet above Lake Michigan.

Walk all the way across, and consider that the entire expanse was just a bone in the teeth of a mile-high glacier.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Environment.

Location. 44° 52.914′ N, 86° 2.556′ W. Marker is in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, in Leelanau County. Marker is in the Dune Climb Area of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, about 3.5 miles WSW of Glen Arbor. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6900 South Dune Highway (Michigan Route 109), Empire MI 49630, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Moving Dune (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pierce Stocking (approx. 0.6 miles away); Sleeping Bear Point Life Saving Station. (approx. 1.8 miles away); Mother Bear Is Migrating (approx. 2 miles away); Of Wrecks and Water Trails (approx. 2 miles away); The Legend of the Manitou Islands and the Sleeping Bear (approx. 2 miles away); Empire Methodist Church (approx. 5 miles away); North Unity (approx. 8.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Also see . . . Sand Dunes. (Submitted on September 30, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., August 27, 2016

2. Sand and Ice Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2016. It was originally submitted on September 30, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 259 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 30, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.