Abbaye Peninsula facts for kids
The Abbaye Peninsula is a long piece of land that sticks out into Lake Superior in Michigan, USA. It's about 12.3 miles (19.8 km) long. You can find it in Baraga County, on the northern side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. On one side, it has Keweenaw Bay, and on the other, it has Huron Bay.
Exploring the Abbaye Peninsula
A Look Back in Time
For a long time, the Abbaye Peninsula was home to the Chippewa people. Their way of life on the peninsula was undisturbed. This changed in 1877. A company called Hebard and Thurberg Lumber Company leased the land. They got permission from a local Chippewa leader.
After that, logging started very quickly. The old, tall trees that had grown for hundreds of years were cut down. These trees were then taken to sawmills in a place called Pequaming. Later, starting in 1914, people tried to turn the cleared land into farms. But this plan did not work out. A post office opened in Aura, Michigan in 1921. It closed completely in 1982.
Nature and How the Land is Used Today
Today, the forests on the Abbaye Peninsula are growing back. These "second-growth" forests are managed for making pulpwood. Pulpwood is wood used to make paper and other products.
The peninsula is very thickly wooded. Almost no one lives there. There are no paved roads to get around this rocky area. Instead, there are gravel roads. These roads are used to move the cut logs. You can drive on them with four-wheel-drive vehicles. In winter, people can use snowmobiles. Some parts of the peninsula are within the Copper Country State Forest.
If you visit the Abbaye Peninsula, you will find a special kind of forest. It's called a boreal ecosystem. This area is strongly shaped by Lake Superior. The lake surrounds Point Abbaye, which is the tip of the peninsula on the northeast side. Farther out in the lake, the Huron Island Light flashes a warning. This lighthouse helps boats navigate safely. People who go boating near the peninsula can also fish for lake trout.
