A decent sized chunk of my next AquaGirl story is going to involve her swimming around in Lake Michigan. But being a UK citizen, I know virtually nothing about it other than what I can dig up on a Wikipedia trawl. So, since I figure some of you probably live a little nearer it than I do, I thought I'd pick your brains... :)
I gather there's some boat traffic, and I assume the waters are patrolled by the US Coastguard (who would be the logical people to mentor her). I gather there is still some waste dumped in the lake, so combined with the need to avoid being seen from the shore (could raise a few eyebrows!), staying a couple of miles offshore seems sensible.
But how much boat traffic is there - and of what type? If she's going to be swimming around for a few hours, will she encounter many fish?
Is there anything else I need to know, or would be useful to know, to make the description of the environment realistic...
...and avoid the wrath of nitpicking pedants :)
Comments
Traffic
There's a lot of shipping across the Great Lakes, as they are part of a system that eventually leads to the Atlantic. They also border Canada to the north. Michigan is really deep and cold; throughout all the Great Lakes, a lot of ships have gone down in storms, and a few are never found. One famous case, the Edmund Fitzgerald, was immortalized in song, and a lot of people thought it had vanished without a trace (or that even aliens were involved!). Although the wreck was eventually found.
A lot of fish, actually, despite the pollution, the lake is still thriving, although it's main problem is from invasion. Molluscs that grow on ship hulls have taken hold in the lake, and, with their natural predators being absent, are everywhere. Asian Carp are also a big problem, as are sea lampreys.
EDIT: *you saw nothing. nothing!*
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-of-effect...but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...stuff.
I could be wrong but I don't
I could be wrong but I don't think the coast guard patrol the great lakes at all, I believe Lake Michigan would, at the very least not be patrolled, as it's internally within the United States. People have been caught illegally crossing in to Canada, and vice versa, but only after someone noticed them crossing the lake and called the police. They're usually arrested after they've landed and it's usually by the police. Actually, a family recently crossed illegally in to Canada from Michigan. They got completely across and were later arrested walking along a road towards a nearby town by the police, after they were spotted by residents of the town, I believed they claimed refugee status.
I've always been under the impression that the Lake Michigan was a particularly polluted lake, comparatively, but I might be way off base on that one. Also as far as I know there is quite a bit of fish and other marine life in the lake, as with all the great lakes.
It might help you to know the the Canada-US border is the longest, and most undefended, border in the world. In quite a few places you don't even talk to a border guard in order to cross you simply enter a video-phone booth and vocally make your declaration of citizenship, hence my assumption about the lack of a coast guard. Like any high traffic water area you might find police boats, but as far as I'm aware it's not heavily patrolled.
I'm sure Erin will know as her knowledge seems to extend to the most eclectic of things. Perhaps you should wait for her to respond.
from the the USCG website:
http://www.uscg.mil/d9/sectlakemichigan/
What's it all boil down to?
So it's mostly for support and safety and not patrol is what I got out of that? Is that what they're saying?
the coastguard is charged
the coastguard is charged with maintaining and executing the law in "navigable waters". the term includes what comes down to the role of traffic cops on lakes, rivers and sea. technically, police departments have as much jurisdiction in those waters as, say, a military police unit on a highway.
I see...
Oh I am aware what they're charged with but it's not clear their exact role on the lakes. I suppose I made my comment under the impression that "patrolled" referred a more active policing action. They seem to have more of a safety concern and less of an illegal crossings concern, unless I understood the previous post incorrectly.
I doubt a person swimming around in the middle of the lake would warrant much concern beyond "are you sure you're okay to swim out this far from shore?" or "Be careful of boat traffic". Maybe that's just my naivety though, but living near the border I know how little concern was traditionally put in to security. It was only last year that we required passports in order to cross over. A point I'm rather sad about.
Swimming
Much of it will be underwater, so assuming she stays away from shipping lanes (I assume that even though it's an inland waterway, most freight traffic will keep to fairly well defined routes) she shouldn't draw much undue attention. Although the shipping does give me an idea of when she first gets a hint of her aquatic ESP.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Swimmers
I have never heard of the Coast Guard bothering a swimmer. Also, since Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is completely within the borders of the United States, there is little concern about illegal immigration or smuggling. A swimmer might be asked if he needs help, but would otherwise be unbothered. Truthfully, he can probably swim the entire coastline without encountering them at all (except for when he swims past their docks.)
Lake Michigan is sparkling clean -- except near Chicago. There, it is somewhat murky (I have heard,) but nothing like muddy 'ol Lake Erie, and certainly nothing like Lake Erie in the '70s.
A swimmer a good distance
A swimmer a good distance from shore out in their own would definitely attract attention from just about any boater, although spotting a swimmer in even moderate swells would be chancy at best. The automatic assumption would be their boat had capsized.
A legitimate cross-the-lake swimmer would have an escort of several boats; at least one good-sized motor cruiser plus possibly a kayak or canoe for a coach, and numerous cheerers-on.
Quetico
I remember seeing something like that in Quetico Provincial Park (Ontario, Canada; west of Lake Superior, north of Minnesota, USA.) A man was swimming through the area's system of lakes (Border Waters,) and was followed by a couple canoes. We cheered him on as he swam through.
From the USCG missions page:
Missions
By law, the Coast Guard has 11 missions:
Ports, waterways, and coastal security
Drug interdiction
Aids to navigation
Search and rescue
Living marine resources
Marine safety
Defense readiness
Migrant interdiction
Marine environmental protection
Ice operations
Other law enforcement
(listed in order of percentage of operating expenses)
Plus a lot more since they are part of the military"
A Military Service
The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy.
As members of a military service, Guardians on active duty and in the Reserve are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive the same pay and allowances as members of the same pay grades in the other four armed services.
Alphabet Soup!
Thank heavens for Google and Wikipedia to make sense of their boat inventory! One of the "25' Response Boat - Small" (aka USCG Defender class boat) looks as though it would be the most likely to take her out into the lake.
So now I know more about the lake and the Coast Guard, what would be the most appropriate rank of personnel to mentor her during her time on the lake?
Incidentally, the whole point of the lake visits is to find out what she can do - since her powers are aquatic, it makes sense to use a large body of water to see how deep she can go / her endurance / her speed etc.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
US Navy and Coast Guard
The US Navy has a presence on Lake Michigan, too. It's where one of their main training bases is located, in North Chicago.
The Coast Guard does patrol the Great Lakes, it's one of their main jobs. The balance between security and safety varies depending on political and economic factors, but both jobs are theirs as well as a good deal of plain law enforcement responsibilities. It's part of the Department of Homeland Security, nowadays, though it used to be part of the Treasury and during war it can be transferred to the Navy, in whole or in part. Yes, Coast Guard units have served overseas in situations where the Navy (or the Army!) needed their expertise at coastal or riverine operations.
BTW, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, not Lake Michigan. The Lakes are connected through a series of locks which regulate shipping, waterflow and help control contamination by foreign species (the last of which, they are not very successful at).
Superior is the biggest, deepest and highest, pretty much the cleanest, too. Erie is shallow and rather polluted, though not nearly as bad as it once was. Michigan is the only one that is entirely within the US.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
The less polluted is a relative term.
It might have gotten cleaner since the last time I was up there but 12 years ago my neice took a biology class up there and the teacher used untreated lake water from lake superior to develop camera film. That kinda wikked me out. Oh yeah and the tumor fishies too.
Bailey Summers
more info, in case you didn't have enough :)
Some things which may or may not be relevant to your story:
The Great Lakes are (of course) fresh water, which can have some interesting implications, predominately, bouyancy is different from the ocean. Swimming (for us normals) is a little harder, the water does not support your body as much, you do not float as well.
The water is less dense, so ships are designed differently. Lake freighters are designed for fresh water, generally longer and narrower to pass through the lock system that joins the lakes. The biggest of these are the 'thousand footers', 300-meter long ships that are too large to pass through the Welland Canal into Lake Ontario. They generally carry iron ore from the mines along Lake Superior to steel mills in the lower lakes.
Ocean-going ships are generally unable to carry full loads on the upper Great Lakes, because their draft is deeper;fully loaded, they could not navigate the lock system.
Usually lake shipping is seasonal; the Great Lakes generally do not freeze over completely in winter (but have done, in the past -- Erie, being the shallowest, often does), but the freezing is usually significant. The waterways (locks at Welland and The Soo) close for the winter season.
Watching a lake freighter navigate a lock is an impressive sight; but not one you'd see in Lake Michigan, although the Soo locks aren't far from the northern tip of Lake Michigan, they join Lake Superior with Lake Huron. I live about an hour away from the Welland Canal; I occasionally make a point of stopping at one of the observation points to watch a huge ship rise or sink like a magic elevator.
Winter storms on the Great Lakes can be as nasty as any ocean storm; hurricane force winds and waves over 35 feet high, with temperatures well below freezing. Because the water is less dense, the frequency of the waves can be higher, and the spray freezes more easily, which can build up thick coats of ice.
I live within a few minute's drive of Lake Ontario, and vacation on Lake Huron, and I've sailed on both (24-foot sailboat); if Michigan is anything like those, in the summer weather, there would be a lot of pleasure craft of all sizes, from canoes and kayaks near the shores and in sheltered bays, to windsurfers, to motor and sail boats, from about 16 feet to 50 feet long and more. Anything over about 22 feet might consider crossing the lake if the weather forecast was clear (especially sailboats, because wind is cheap :) ), so on a good summer's day there'd likely be traffic almost anywhere. It would vary a lot with the weather though, because even a normal summer storm becomes pretty nasty out on the lake. It's not unusual to get caught by a change in weather, so most boaters never get too far from shore, and just hop from harbor to harbor along the coast.
The word 'traffic' is misleading, though; the lakes are HUGE. Out of sight of the shore, you may see a few boats between you and the horizon, but could easily never pass within a mile of another person.
Hope this helps!
Geography and the Great Lakes
Again, if this was all covered already, ignore me! :)
A mnemonic device they teach us in the U.S. to remember the physical order of the Great Lakes is:
Hope that helps!
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Mnemonic
Very appropriate considering the story I'm writing is in the Comics Retcon Universe :)
As to why Michigan - it's because Rena (Lorena) has moved into Chicago - so as Lake Michigan's on the doorstep (so to speak), it's the best place for her to explore her new aquatic abilities.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Lake Michigan
As it happens, we went to the beach twice last week. The water is a bit on the cool side, but swimmable. It tends to be warmer in the shallow bays. The water is very clear, only getting murky as you approach Chicago.
Zebra mussels have invaded the great lakes, but there isn't any real visible damage. You can see the small shells littering the beaches, and can find clumps of them in some places (they stick together.) Like any change in the environment, some species benefit, and others are hurt.
There are no tides in the Great Lakes. Currents are typically not a problem for swimmers, though there are allegedly undertows in some areas -- especially near the mouths of rivers.
The waves on Lake Michigan are usually mild, but heavy seas are definitely not unheard of. In general, the wavelength is shorter than you see in the ocean.
Someone swimming on the surface is not likely to see many fish. If he is snorkeling, he will likely see some bass and perch, and various species of sunfish in shallow weedy areas -- though sunfish are more of an inland lake fish. If he's swimming during spawning time (about now,) he may see thousands of salmon heading for the rivers.
Most of the beaches I have seen are sandy (tan in color) or slightly rocky. The lakes were dug out by glaciers, so there is a wide variety of rocks.
There are a number of lighthouses around the coastline.
You can find some pictures on Google Earth. If you want to send me your email address, I can send you a few that I recently took. I can send you a video clip or two so you can get a feel for the wave action.
lake michigan
I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan and I'm still here. The weather is mostly too cold for swimming from mid Oct. on until early June. Right now early Sept.)the water temp along the lake front is about 20C or 68F. Sometimes but not often it will get up to 22C or 72F in the summer. Pollution is not a concern except a couple of time a year after a very heavy rain storm when there is a lot of storm run off. The pollution is near shore and mostly E. Coli bacteria and goes (dies?) away in a few days. We get our drinking water from the Lake and nobody (mostly) wants it polluted. The lake is some 370 mi. (600+km)long and the weather and shore lines north to south are very different. The lake bottom in the south is mostly sand and clay. In the north it's rockey. There are lots of small (15+foot) pleasure boats near population centers in the summer. There are lake freighters, huge ore boats and ocean going container ships coming into The Port of Chicago, Port of Milwaukee and I don't know where else as soon as the ice goes out in northern Lake Michigan. They usually travel about 5 miles off shore.
Here is the weather report for Evanston, Illinois, on the SW shore of the lake. Poke around the site and you can find weather for near shore and off shore areas.
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Evanston+IL+60201
Aechel
Aechel