AREA AND DRAINAGE BASIN OF LAKE SUPElilOIi 115 



apply to all. It is of a general quadrangular kmn and is sepa- 

 rated from the i)eninsula to the west and Simpson to the east hy 

 narrow rivers or fiord-like straits only a mile or so l)road, thougli 

 many miles long, and several to many fathoms deep. Like the 

 preceding, it is of basaltic character, hut the tal)ular formation 

 so abundantly represented about Thunder l)ay is here modified 

 by lower altitudes and by rounded hills, which replace tiie flat 

 surface. On St Ignace island the highest hill attains an eleva- 

 tion of about 850 feet. 



In Lake Superior there is but one archipelago proper — that is, 

 a cluster of islands in which no one greatly surpasses all the 

 others. This is the archipelago of the Apostle islands, or, more 

 briefly, " The Apostles," so called by the early Jesuit Fathers 

 because there were twelve princijial islands. The individual 

 islands, however, have received anything l)ut apostolic names, 

 being, in order of size, Madeline (23 square miles), Stockton 

 (16 square miles). Outer (12), Oak (8), Sand (4), Bear, Bass- 

 wood, and INIichigan (each 3 square miles), Rocky, Otter, Mani- 

 tou, and Cat (each 2 square miles). Then comes the thirteenth 

 apostle, or Devil's island ; then the south and north Twins. The 

 total area of the archipelago is eighty-two square miles. The 

 larger of these islands are somewhat hilly and are covered with 

 spruce trees of some size. The smaller are sandy and level. 

 They were settled early in the history of the colonization of the 

 lake, but the population has since dwindled until it is almost 

 nil. There is no post-office on the islands. 



The drainage basin of Lake Superior is relatively small. Its 

 outlines have not been so definitely ma{)ped that it can be meas- 

 ured with the same accuracy as that of the lake surface, but the 

 total area may l)e put at 82,800 square miles.* Of this the area 

 of the lake itself makes 39 per cent, anil of the land 39 ])er cent 

 is Canadian and 22 i)er cent American. The margin of the 

 watershed is low in all directions, and it is in general ill-defineil. 

 Along it, througliout almost its entire length, are found innu- 

 merable small bodies of water, isolated and without drainage, 

 exce})t at seasons of high water, showing that this watershed is 

 indefinite. The lowest points of the watershed are on the south- 

 east, near the St Marys river, where it reaches but a few score 

 feet above the lake. It gradually rises toward the west, and at 

 a point al)out fifty miles soutiieast of Maniuette first reaches an 

 altitude of 400 feet al)Ove tiie lake surface. South of Keweenaw 



♦ Scliermerhoni, 1. o. 



