NIPISSING GREAT LAKES. 455 



Traverse City to Manistee.-, — In Traverse City the Nipissing breach encircles the head of the 

 bay about a quarter of a mile from the shore and passes through the south part of the business 

 section. It appears to deflect Boardman River to the west after it leaves Boardman Lake. 

 The beach is not seen to advantage in the city, but in the suburbs both east and west it appears 

 as a belt of sandy ridges. Northward on the west side of the bay it is well denned for several 

 miles and forms the principal part of the barrier that incloses the small lake behind Traverse 

 Beach. Two or three mdes north of this small lake both the Nipissing and Algoncpiin beaches 

 are cut away for two intervals of half a mile each. At Lees Point the deposits of this beach 

 form the principal parts of the projecting cusp. At Suttons Bay the Nipissing beach is a belt 

 of low sandy gravel ridges. Toward Omena it is a well-defined storm bar which ties the head- 

 land to the mainland. Thence to Northport it is a gravelly bench and low bluff. 



Although generally well defined on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, the Nipissing beach 

 is considerably weaker than on the more exposed shores outside. In the two arms of the bay 

 it is clearly developed in some places, but it is generally weak, especially toward their heads. 



In the vicinity of Northport the beach increases in strength, especially on Lighthouse Point. 

 Around Cathead Bay it is probably covered by dunes. Two small ponds, Mud and Leg lakes, 

 have been shut off by barrier bars. 



Southward from Cathead Point the Nipissing beach on the west side of the peninsula has 

 been cut away everywhere except in fragmentary embayments that now remain between 

 truncated headlands. From the point to Leland it is gone. On Lake Leelanau it is faintly 

 marked on both sides of the inlet and is the wide sandy terrace on which the lower part of 

 the village of Leland is built. 



The Fox Islands were not visited, but the low altitude of the beach makes it practically 

 certain it is present unless it has been cut away. On North Manitou Island it is a f airly strong 

 sandy, gravelly bench with a low cliff back of it along most of the east shore, but it has been 

 cut away on most of the remaining sides. On South Manitou Island it is recorded on the east 

 side as a belt of gravelly ridges around the harbor, but it is probably cut away at most places 

 on the other sides. 



The beach reappears 3 miles south of Leland and extends around Good Harbor Bay to 

 within a mile of Pyramid Point. Between Good Harbor and North Unity it is a great crescentic 

 belt of sandy gravel ridges half a mile or more wide. The barrier formed by this belt 

 incloses Traverse Lake and a small lake west of North Unity and has diverted the outlet of 

 Traverse Lake 2 miles to the west. 



On Sleeping Bear Bay the beach reappears about a mile north of Glen Arbor and forms 

 well-defined sandy gravelly ridges to half a mile west of Glen Haven. Around Sleeping Bear 

 Point and for 5 miles south the Nipissing beach is entirely removed. (See PL XXVIII, B.) 

 In an embayment which begins 3 miles north of Empire and extends to that place it lies 

 about a mile back from the shore as a belt of gravelly ridges not far below the Algonquin. 

 Two small ponds in front of the Nipissing beach have been inclosed by modern shore drift and 

 by dunes. 



Along the bluffs at Empire the beach is entirely removed, but it begins again at Aral and 

 runs around Platte Bay as a great belt of sandy ridges a quarter to half a mile from the shore. 

 Around the west end of Crystal Lake the beach has been cut away. 



Some low sandy ridges at Frankfort seem to belong to the Nipissing stage, but the embay- 

 ment is small and wave action seems to have been weak. For 2 miles south of Frankfort the 

 beach has been cut away, but in the small embayment at Herring Lake it occurs in faint devel- 

 opment as sandy ridges. Beyond, it has been cut away for 2 miles, but for a mile or so north 

 of Arcadia it is present in moderate strength as a gravelly ridge. 



From Arcadia to a mile south of Portage Lake the Nipissing beach is gone. It is gone 

 also for 3 miles north of the inlet at Manistee. Around Portage and Bar lakes, however, it is 

 quite distinct, though not strong. Around both of these lakes the Algonquin appears to be 

 absent. (See p. 428.) 



