| Straits of Mackinac | |
|---|---|
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 Overhead view of the Straits of Mackinac linking Lakes Michigan (left) and Huron (right) | |
  Straits of Mackinac  Straits of Mackinac  Straits of Mackinac | |
| Location | Lake Michigan-Lake Huron |
| Coordinates | 45°48′50″N84°45′00″W / 45.81389°N 84.75000°W /45.81389; -84.75000 |
| Type | Strait |
| Etymology | Michilimackinac |
| Primary inflows | Lake Michigan |
| Primary outflows | Lake Huron |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. depth | 295 ft (90 m) |
| References | [1] |
TheStraits of Mackinac (/ˈmækənɔː/MAK-ə-naw;French:Détroit de Mackinac) are the short waterways between theU.S. state ofMichigan'sUpper andLower Peninsulas, traversed by theMackinac Bridge. The main strait is3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 kilometers) wide with a maximum depth of 295 feet (90 meters; 49 fathoms),[2] and connects theGreat Lakes ofLake Michigan andLake Huron. Given the large size and configuration of the straits, hydrologically, the two connected lakes are one body of water, studied asLake Michigan–Huron. Historically, the nativeOdawa people called the region around the StraitsMichilimackinac.
Threeislands form the eastern edge of the Straits of Mackinac; two are populated—Bois Blanc Island andMackinac Island, while the third,Round Island, is uninhabited and a designated wilderness area.[1] The Straits of Mackinac are major shipping lanes, providing passage for raw materials and finished goods and connecting, for instance, the iron mines ofMinnesota to thesteel mills ofGary, Indiana. Before therailroads reachedChicago from the east, most immigrants arrived in theMidwest andGreat Plains by ships on theGreat Lakes. The straits are five miles (8 km) wide at their narrowest point, where they are spanned by theMackinac Bridge. Before the bridge was built,car ferries transported vehicles across the straits. Today passenger-only ferries carry people toMackinac Island, which does not permit cars. Visitors can take their vehicles on a car ferry toBois Blanc Island.
The straits are shallow and narrow enough to freeze over in the winter. Navigation is ensured for year-round shipping to the Lower Great Lakes by the use oficebreakers.
The straits were an importantNative American andfur trade route. The Straits of Mackinac are named afterMackinac Island. The localOjibwe Native Americans in the Straits of Mackinac region likened the shape of the island to that of a turtle, so they named the islandMitchimakinak, meaning "Big Turtle".[3] When the British explored the area, they shortened the name to its present form:Mackinac.[4][5]
Located on the southern side of the straits is the town ofMackinaw City, the site ofFort Michilimackinac, a reconstructed French fort founded in 1715, and on the northern side isSt. Ignace, site of a French Catholic mission to the Indians, founded in 1671. The eastern end of the straits was controlled byFort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, a British colonial and early American military base and fur trade center, founded in 1781.
A French Catholic mission to the Indians was founded atSt. Ignace in 1671. In 1715,Fort Michilimackinac was built by the French on the south end of the straits' narrow. Michilimackinac was replaced in 1781 by a British fort, Fort Mackinac, on Mackinac Island.
Enbridge Line 5 was built in 1953 as an extension of the 1,150-mile (1,850 km) Interprovincial Pipe Line Company line west of the iconic Mackinac Bridge, bringing oil from Alberta toLake Superior.[6] On December 12, 2018, Michigan GovernorRick Snyder signed a bill establishing the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority and appointed its first members.[7]
The straits are patrolled by a detachment of theUnited States Coast Guard based at Graham Point, St. Ignace. A shipping channel through the winter ice is maintained by the Coast Guard's Great Lakesicebreaker,USCGCMackinaw, based inCheboygan near the eastern edge of the Straits. This vessel went into service during the 2005/06 ice season.
Two ferry companies operate out of Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, connecting tourists and commuters toMackinac Island:Shepler's Ferry and theArnold Transit Company.
Most of the Straits have been set aside by the state of Michigan as theStraits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve, a riparian public space dedicated to those personnel who were lost aboard the boats and ships that sank in these dangerous shipping lanes.
Lighthouses in the Straits of Mackinac include:
West of the iconic Mackinac Bridge isEnbridge's pipeline, calledEnbridge Line 5, which was built in 1953 as an extension of the 1,150-mile (1,850 km) Interprovincial Pipe Line Company line bringing oil from Alberta toLake Superior.[6] The 1953 pipeline enters the Straits of Mackinac water on the north shore atSt. Ignace, Michigan, and lies along the bottom of the Straits which is nearly 250 feet (76 m) in places.[8] By 2013 Enbridge had increased the "maximum capacity on the lines to 540,000 bbl (86,000 m3) per day".[8] In selling the idea of the pipeline to residents living near the Straits, the pipeline developers claimed, it was "essential to the defense of the United States and the whole North American continent".[8] A University of Michigan study studied the risks of a leak, leading to experts and local governments calling for the shutdown of the pipeline.[9][10]
In late June 2019, the state of Michigan filed a lawsuit asking the Ingham County Court to compel the decommissioning of the segment of Line 5 that runs under the Straits of Mackinac.[11] AReuters news report defined Line 5 as "a critical part of Enbridge’s Mainline network, which delivers the bulk of Canadian crude exports to the United States". The basis of the suit is the claim that the pipeline is a public nuisance and violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act since it may become the source of pollution. The news report adds that "it is unclear if Line 5 could operate without the Straits segment".[12][13]
On December 12, 2018, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill establishing the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, which is charged with overseeing the construction and operation of a tunnel to hold a new Enbridge Line 5 under the lake bed in the straits. Snyder also appointed its first members: Geno Alessandrini of Iron Mountain, Anthony England of Ypsilanti, and Michael Zimmer of Dimondale, who serve six-year terms.[7]
Michigan's attorney general sued Thursday to shut down twin 66-year-old oil pipelines in the Great Lakes, saying they pose an "unacceptable risk" and the state cannot wait five to 10 years for Enbridge Inc. to build a tunnel to house replacement pipes running through the Straits of Mackinac.
The location of the pipelines…combines great ecological sensitivity with exceptional vulnerability to anchor strikes," said Nessel in a statement. "This situation with Line 5 differs from other bodies of water where pipelines exist because the currents in the Straits of Mackinac are complex, variable, and remarkably fast and strong.
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