Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUBSECTION VI.5. Huron
DISCUSSION: Subsection VI.5 has a climate moderated by the Great Lakes, but less so than along Lake Michigan or Lake Superior because of the direction of prevailing winds, which are from the west and southwest.
SUB-SUBSECTIONS: the Sandusky Lake Plain (VI.5.1), which is a flat lake plain that slopes gradually to Lake Huron; and the Lum interlobate (VI.5.2), with both end-moraine ridges and outwash deposits.
ELEVATION: 572 to 1,041 feet (175 to 317 m).
AREA: 3,690 square miles (9,564 sq km).
STATES: Michigan.
CLIMATE: Subsection is cooler than most of the rest of southern Lower Michigan. Growing season is 130 to 160 days (Eichenlaub et al. 1990). Because most air flows here are from a westerly direction, this subsection experiences less lake moderation than subsections on the west side of the State. Extreme minimum temperature ranges from -24½F to -28½F. Average annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 34 inches, and annual snowfall is 40 to 80 inches. The highest rainfall and snowfall occurs at the northeastern edge of the subsection along Lake Huron, where lake-effect precipitation occurs when winds are from the north and east.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY: The bedrock underlying most of the subsection is Paleozoic in age, deposited in marine and near-shore environments (Dorr and Eschman 1984). Bedrock is covered by glacial deposits, except on lower reaches of some of the streams and small portions of the shoreline of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. Bedrock includes Mississippian shale, sandstone, gypsum, and limestone. At the southeastern edge, along the St. Clair River, there is Devonian shale; at the western edge, there is Pennsylvanian sandstone, shale, limestone, and coal. Mississippian sandstone is exposed in the north, along Lake Huron. Pennsylvanian-age coal was mined locally.
LANDFORMS: Subsection VI.5 consists of broad expanses of level lake plain (Sub-subsection VI.5.1), but it also includes steep end-moraine ridges and pitted outwash in the southwest (Sub-subsection VI.5.2). See sub-subsections.
SOILS: See sub-subsections.
LAKES AND STREAMS: See sub-subsections.
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: See sub-subsections.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: See sub-subsections.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: See sub-subsections.
RARE PLANTS: See sub-subsections.
RARE ANIMALS: See sub-subsections.
NATURAL AREAS: See sub-subsections.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS: See sub-subsections.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: See sub-subsections.
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