Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUB-SUBSECTION VII.6.3. Cheboygan
DISCUSSION: Much of this relatively flat area of calcareous glacial lake plain is wetland, largely dominated by northern white-cedar. Broadly diverse lacustrine features are present, supporting vegetation characteristic of the northern Great Lakes shoreline.
ELEVATION: 580 to 750 feet (177 to 229 m).
AREA: 836 square miles (2,158 sq km).
CLIMATE: Growing season ranges from 130 days near the inland edge to 140 days along much of the Lake Huron and Michigan shorelines. The longest growing season is about 150 days at the extreme southeast edge near Alpena (Eichenlaub et al. 1990). Extreme minimum temperatures are approximately -28½F at the southern edge and 36½F further to the north, where Lake Huron does not appear to modify the extreme low temperature to any great extent. Average annual precipitation is 28 to 30 inches, and average snowfall is 80 inches along the entire length of the sub-subsection.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY: Glacial drift is discontinuous near the shorelines of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The underlying bedrock consists of Mississippian and Devonian marine and near-shore sedimentary deposits (Milstein 1987, Dorr and Eschman 1984). Limestone, dolomite, and gypsum are locally exposed and mined. Devonian bedrock in the subsection is a source for salt, brine, and major petroleum reservoirs (Dorr and Eschman 1984).
LANDFORMS: Sub-subsection VII.6.3 forms a narrow band of sandy lake plain, 2 to 10 miles wide, along the shoreline of Lake Huron (Comer et al. 1993a). Although a veneer of sand covers a large part of the sub-subsection's surface, limestone bedrock is near the surface of almost the entire sub-subsection; and exposed bedrock and cobble beaches are common.
Similar to other sand lake plains in the State, much of the topography is a series of beach ridges and adjacent wet depressions, extending locally several miles inland. These dune and swale complexes are well developed in Sturgeon Bay of Lake Michigan and east of Cheboygan and along Hammond Bay of Lake Huron. Near the present lake shore, the depressions are typically poorly drained and sometimes ponded. Farther inland, the depressions become better drained; in some places they are excessively drained, as are adjacent beach ridges. Sand dunes, low foredunes, sand spits, and beach ridges line much of the shoreline. The Original Swamp Map of Michigan (Lane 1907) shows most of the sub-subsection as swamp.
Inland from the beach ridges and depressions are extensive flat, featureless areas of sand lake plain that are usually poorly drained. Within these broad tracts occur low sandy rises with slightly better drainage.
West of Rogers City, the surface soil is primarily sand. Sand depth and the surface features are quite variable. The Ocqueoc River in northwestern Presque Isle County cuts through thick sand deposits that extend landward for more than a mile. These deposits are relatively flat, and their origin is unclear.
Large Nipissing-age dunes are located near Sturgeon Bay on Lake Michigan (Dorr and Eschman 1984). Most of the dunes on Lake Huron are much smaller; the largest of these are 30 to 40 feet high near 40 Mile Beach.
Exposed limestone bedrock and thick deposits of cobbles are common southeast of Rogers City. Waves have eroded the limestone bedrock into steep bluffs. At one time, organic soils covered the cobbles; but fire, which was widespread throughout this part of the lake plain at the time of the GLO surveys, has destroyed much of the organic cover, leaving bare cobbles. Karst depressions occur around Long Lake and elsewhere in Presque Isle and Alpena Counties of the eastern end of the sub-subsection.
LAKES AND STREAMS: Three major lakes: Carp, Grand, and Long. Long, Grand, and Grass Lakes have long, linear basins formed by glacial erosion of the underlying bedrock; the orientation of these lakes is similar to that of the drumlins in adjacent Sub-subsection VII.6.1. Large rivers: Thunder Bay, Ocqueoc, Black, and Cheboygan.
SOILS: Most of the soils are lacustrine sands, ranging from excessively drained to very poorly drained. It is more useful to discuss the soils in context of the diverse lacustrine features. See the LANDFORMS section.
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: Large areas of flat, poorly drained sand lake plain were dominated by lowland conifer forests; the most common species was northern white-cedar. Northern white-cedars were dominant in areas where there was lateral water movement and they formed dense stands at the seepy, calcareous margins of adjacent Sub-subsection VII.6.1. Tamarack was also a common dominant and often was found growing with cedar; it was more common where drainage conditions were more impeded. Other wetland species common in the extensive wetlands of the sub-subsection included balsam fir, black spruce, eastern hemlock, white pine, balsam poplar, trembling aspen, paper birch, speckled alder, and shrub willows.
White pine and red pine were common co-dominants on the well-drained, low sand ridges of the lake plain, especially near the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines. These pines also grew together on gravelly or rocky sites near the Lake Huron shoreline.
Hemlock and white pine were also common co-dominants, often where the drainage conditions were slightly poorer than where white pine and red pine grew together. Paper birch and trembling aspen also grew on flat to rolling parts of the sand lake plain.
Near the Ocqueoc River, where droughty outwash sands extended for several miles inland from the shore, there were extensive stands of jack pine and red pine-jack pine. These stands also contained red oak and some white pine.
The complexes of beach ridges and swales near Sturgeon Bay and Cheboygan contained ridges of white pine and red pine and swales dominated by either northern white-cedar and other conifers, or if they were flooded, by emergent marsh. A similar complex at Hammond Bay, where the swales were narrow, was drier; the ridges were dominated by white pine and red pine near the shoreline, with jack pine and northern pin oak becoming more common farther inland. The drier swales supported balsam fir, aspen, and other upland species; and the wetter ones suported cedar, tamarack, and other lowland conifers or hardwoods.
Calcareous ponds occurred near the shoreline; these ponds were sometimes dominated by emergent marsh or small-diameter tamarack, cedar, and occasional black spruce.
Although northern hardwoods were not generally extensive in the sub-subsection, some large tracts were located around Long and Grand Lakes, along the Cheboygan and Black Rivers, and locally along the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: Several windthrows were noted; the largest of these was less than 2 square miles in area. The windthrows were concentrated near the boundary of the lake plain with the drumlins of Sub-subsection VII.6.1. Windthrows were also recorded on Hog, Garden, and High Islands.
There were also two large areas of burned timber. These burns were not noted in the first GLO survey (of the township lines); they may have been the result of early logging operations near Cheboygan, where log mills were already noted in the first survey. Several square miles of timber were burned near Cheboygan, more were burned near Thompson's Harbor and Grand Lake. Mixed stands of white pine and red pine appeared to be the forest type most impacted by the fires. Wildfires were also noted on Garden and Hog Islands.
PRESENT VEGETATION AND LAND USE: Early European activity was apparent at Cheboygan, an early logging and fishing settlement, at the time of the GLO surveys. Limestone in this sub-subsection has been quarried at several locations, including near Alpena, Grand Lake, Adams Point, and Rogers City. Residential development is concentrated along the shoreline, especially in the Straits of Mackinac, from Wilderness State Park in the west, to east of Cheboygan. Many seasonal residences and second homes have been built around the larger inland lakes.
Logging has greatly altered the forest composition of many upland forest types, especially those dominated by white pine, red pine, or hemlock. Most of the wetlands have also been logged. No major changes of wetland forest composition have been noted; northern white-cedar has generally regenerated well on the calcareous soils of the lake plain.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: High-quality fens are common along the shoreline of Lake Huron.
RARE PLANTS: Cirsium pitcheri (Pitcher's thistle), Iris lacustris (dwarf lake iris), Mimulus glabratus var. michiganensis (Michigan-monkey flower), Pterospora andromedea (pine-drops), Solidago houghtonii (Houghton's goldenrod), Tanacetum huronense (Lake Huron tansy).
RARE ANIMALS: Charadrius melodus (piping plover), Chlidonias niger (black tern), Sterna caspia (Caspian tern), Sterna hirundo (common tern), Trimerotropis huroniana (secretive locust).
NATURAL AREAS: Wilderness Area and National Wildlife Refuges: Michigan Islands (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); State Natural Areas: Besser, Sturgeon Bay-Sucker Creek, Thompson's Harbor, Waugoshance Point Nature Study Preserve, Wilderness State Park (proposed); The Nature Conservancy Preserves: Grass Bay, Squaw Bay; Michigan Nature Association Preserves: Grass Lake, Gull Island, Bird Island, Grass Island; Other: Peter Nature Sanctuary.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS: State Forests: Mackinac; State Parks: Wilderness, Cheboygan, Thompson's Harbor, Onaway, Negwegon, P.H. Hoeft; State Environmental Areas: Black River, Duncan Bay, Jensen Harbor, Hat Island, Squaw Bay, Whitefish Bay, Wilderness, Grape, Sacajawea; Other: University of Michigan Biological Station, Beaver Island Wildlife Research Area.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: Sub-subsection VII.6.3 contains several large State parks and nature preserves along the Great Lakes shoreline, offering protection to high-quality coastal ecosystems and large populations of both dwarf lake iris and Pitcher's thistle. Mature forests of white pine and red pine, among the best remaining in the State, are protected at Wilderness State Park. Several areas of high-quality, undeveloped Great Lakes shoreline remain unprotected.
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