LAKE MICHIGAN NATURAL REGION

COUNTIES LOCATED WITHIN REGION:                                                                                      -Porter and LaPorte (portion)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:                                                                                                             The Lake Michigan Natural Region consists of much more area of lake sediments than dune sands due to the recession of Lake Michigan over time.  Proper sand dunes occur in only a small portion of the total area.  Black Oak trees dominate the forested dunes and Jack Pine trees reach their southern border here.   

PROTECTED AREAS:

-Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Photo from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (courtesy of USFWS)

Lake Michigan, which is the sixth largest lake in the world, is 300 miles long and 100 miles wide and helps to make up part of the Indiana Dunes.  It is the lake that controls the temperature year round and allows many plants to grow in the Dunes, increasing the biodiversity of the Dunes.  The Dune habitat is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the areas that surround it.  The temperature of the lake stays fairly constant.  Approximately 40 species of fish occupy Lake Michigan.  The species include chinook, coho salmon, skamania and winter-run steelhead trout, lake trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, smelt and many tiny darters.  Some exotic species of salmon and steelhead were introduced into Lake Michigan for sportfishing.  Sea lamprey made its way to the lake when the Erie and Welland Canals were built.  The first lamprey was seen in 1937, as a result of lamprey invasion the native trout declined rapidly.  In 1996 they finally got the lamprey population under control. 

Recreational activities available at the Indiana Dunes include swimming, picnicking, hiking, fishing, camping, and enjoying wildlife.  The Indiana Dunes encompass 15,000 acres of land and is one of the most diverse parks in the United States.  The Dunes were formed 15,000 years ago when the last glaciers retreated to make Lake Michigan and as a result left behind the sand dunes and ridges.  Some Dunes stand almost 100 feet above Lake Michigan.  There are many habitats within the Dunes that include:  sedge meadows, tallgrass prairie, sand prairie, swamp, bog and fen, marsh, white and black oak savanna, rivers and streams.  Some of the vegetation found in the savannas of the Dunes includes grasses, prairie and savanna plants, and white and black oaks.  Over 100 native grasses grow here in the Dunes.  There are also many kinds of wildflowers found in the park.  They include New England asters, blazing star asters, Indian paintbrush, rattlesnake master, and Indian pipe.

Human impacts have drastically altered the ecology of the Dunes.  These impacts include construction along the shoreline of the Lake, pollution, over-fishing, and introduction of invasive species.  The region surrounding the park is extremely populated and thus heavily polluted by industries.