Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park (roi´əl), 571,790 acres (231,575 hectares), comprising about 200 islands, in Lake Superior, NW Mich.; est. 1940. Isle Royale, 210 sq mi (544 sq km), is the largest island in Lake Superior; Greenstone Ridge extends along its entire length. Glaciated, the island has many lakes, streams, and inlets and remains a roadless, forested wilderness. Its abundant wildlife includes beaver, fox, moose, timber wolves, and many birds. The French, lured by the fur trade, named the island in 1671. Isle Royale became U.S. territory in 1783 and was ceded to the United States by the Chippewa in 1843. It was mined for copper from 1843 to 1899; large areas of forest were burned to expose the ore and to build settlements. In the early 1900s the island was a popular vacation retreat. See National Parks and Monuments (table).