| Ottawa National Forest | |
|---|---|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) | |
 Pinus strobus, Katherine Lake. Ottawa National Forest,Sylvania Wilderness, Michigan | |
 Map showing National Forests in Michigan. | |
| Location | Upper Peninsula,Michigan, United States |
| Nearest city | Ironwood, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 46°14′N88°57′W / 46.23°N 88.95°W /46.23; -88.95 |
| Area | 993,010 acres (4,020 km2)[1] |
| Established | January 27, 1931[2] |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | www |
TheOttawa National Forest is a national forest that covers 993,010 acres (401,860 ha) in theUpper Peninsula of theU.S. state ofMichigan. It includes much ofGogebic andOntonagon counties, as well as slices ofIron,Houghton,Baraga, andMarquette counties. The forest is under the jurisdiction of theU.S. Forest Service.
The headquarters are inIronwood, Michigan, on theWisconsin border, and the principal visitor center is located inWatersmeet, Michigan, in the southern section of the Forest. These and other towns within and adjacent to the Forest are served byU.S. Highway 2, one of the principal highways of the Western Upper Peninsula. There are localranger district offices inBessemer,Iron River,Kenton,Ontonagon, and Watersmeet.[3]
Wooded slopes mark the south shore ofLake Superior within the Ottawa National Forest, particularly within theBlack River country between Little Girl's Point and thePresque Isle River.
As the Black River, aNational Wild and Scenic River, falls from near Copper Peak down towards the lake, it tumbles over seven separate mapped and namedwaterfalls. The Presque Isle river and its major tributary,Copper Creek, have eleven waterfalls, although four of the Presque Isle falls are outside the national forest and are located within the boundaries of the adjacentPorcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Underwood Hill, at 1,867 feet (569 m) in altitude (more than 1,200 feet (370 m) above the level of nearby Lake Superior) is the highest elevation in the Presque Isle River drainage area. However, this is not the highest point in the national forest. That honor belongs to an unnamed 1,900-foot (580 m) hill north ofLac Vieux Desert in southeastern Gogebic County. Rain or snow that falls on the north side of this hill flows through theOntonagon River towards Lake Superior; precipitation on the south side flows through theWisconsin River to theGulf of Mexico.
The Ottawa National Forest is an area of relatively high precipitation in both winter and summer. Sections of the Forest receive more than 200 inches (500 cm) ofsnow annually. In winter, Lake Superior, which usually does not freeze over, is itself the source of much of the water vapor that falls in the area. In many of the summer months, moist air carried by southerly winds from the faraway Gulf does not fall below thedew point in temperature until it enters the Lake Superior basin.
The forested area is rich in water but poor intopsoil. The glaciers of variousIce Ages, including the most recentWisconsonian glaciation, scraped much of the forested area down to bare rock or sand. The result is a highly characteristicboreal forestecosystem.
The Ottawa National Forest is home to several clans of theOjibwa people who coexisted with the Forest's numerous rockywetlands. They harvested many of the region'smammals, particularlybeaver, for their pelts, and sold them to traders from Canada and the eastern United States, such as the traders of theAmerican Fur Company. After the fur trade declined, the nation sold most of the forest in the 1854Treaty of La Pointe. A part of the nation used some of the proceeds from their fur trapping to purchase lands around Lac Vieux Desert, where their descendants remain today as theLac Vieux Desert Band ofLake Superior Chippewa.
As a result of the construction of theDuluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway in 1892–1894, the forest was opened tologging. A few parcels of old-growthwhite pine andred pine remain.
After the logging era ended, the heavily exploited forest was partly abandoned. TheU.S. federal government established the Ottawa National Forest in 1931, but the forest did not reach its full size until after two large land purchases in 1933 and 1935. In 1935 the national forest reached its maximum size of 1,026,329 acres (4,105 km2). After someprivatizations, the Forest reached its current 1.0 million acre (4,000 km2) extent.
During the years afterWorld War II, growingautomobile tourism made it possible for a wider variety of people to visit the forest.
Ottawa National Forest is used forfishing,canoeing, and lakekayaking. In winter, the Forest welcomescross-country skiers andsnowmobilers.
The Ottawa National Forest contains three designated U.S.wilderness areas, managed as such by the Forest Service. They areMcCormick Wilderness and theSturgeon River Gorge Wilderness nearKenton, Michigan, and theSylvania Wilderness near Watersmeet, Michigan.
TheNorth Country Trail runs through the forest. Hikers can use the trail to accessO Kun de Kun Falls.
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Opened in 1971, the Ottawa Visitor Center offers interpretive programs and exhibits about the natural history and resources of the Forest. The center's mission is to guide visitors to safe, wise and caring use of the Forest.
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