Geography
In 1875, Isle Royale was set off from Keweenaw County, as a separate county, "Isle Royale County". In 1897, the county was dissolved, and the island was reincorporated into Keweenaw County. The highest point on the island is Mount Desor at 1,394 feet (425 m), or about 800 feet (240 m) above lake level.
Isle Royale is within about 15 miles (24 km) of the Canadian and Minnesotan shores of the lake, (near the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario), and is 56 miles (90 km) from the Michigan shore, on the Keweenaw Peninsula. There are seasonal passenger ferry services to the island from Grand Portage, Minnesota; Copper Harbor, Michigan; and Houghton, Michigan. There is also a seasonal sea plane service. There are no roads on the island, and, in fact, no wheeled vehicles or devices, other than wheelchairs, are permitted. Rock Harbor does have wheeled carts available to move personal belongings from the Rock Harbor marina to the cabins and hotel. Also the National Park Service does employ tractors and a few WWII jeeps to move items around the ranger station area at Windigo, Rock Harbor, and Mott Island.
Topsoil tends to be thin, which favors trees that have horizontal root patterns such as balsam fir, white spruce, black spruce, and shell bark spruce.
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