Let's make a visit to Northern Michigan today. Our first stop will be Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This beautiful park is on the northwestern edge of the Lower Peninsula (check your map!). The hills in the park were created 11,800 years ago when the last glacier melted away and left behind huge piles of sand and rocks. Winds blowing across Lake Michigan have pushed sand up on top of these hills to create tall sand dunes all along the shore.
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| Cottonwood trees on a dune above Lake Michigan |
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| Lake Michigan |
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| Dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
One of the biggest dunes is called the Sleeping Bear. The Anishinaabek Indians, who live in this part of Michigan, tell a legend about how Sleeping Bear came to be. Click the bear to read the story.
