Lower Michigan's Topography

elevation map of Lower Michigan (map from muir-way.com)

from Michigan Trout Streams

Northern Michigan’s landscape is basically a frozen moment of the last ice age thawing out. What you see today—rolling hills, sandy soils, clear rivers, and thousands of lakes—was shaped almost entirely by the advance and retreat of massive continental glaciers during the Wisconsin Glaciation about 75,000 to 11,000 years ago.

Instead of sharp mountains, northern Michigan has a softer, sculpted terrain:
• Moraines: Ridges of rock and debris pushed up by glaciers. These form many of the region’s hills and divides.
• Outwash plains: Flat, sandy areas where meltwater spread sediments—these are why so many northern rivers run over gravel beds.
• Kettle depressions: When buried ice chunks melted, they left behind holes that became lakes and wetlands.
• Drumlins: Long, streamlined hills shaped by moving ice, common in parts of the Lower Peninsula. This mix gives northern Michigan its “rolling” feel—nothing extreme, but constantly changing elevation.

Michigan’s lakes weren’t just filled in—they were carved out:
• As glaciers advanced, they scoured and deepened basins in softer bedrock.
• When they melted, those basins filled with water, forming inland lakes and contributing to the Great Lakes system.
• Many smaller lakes are kettle lakes—steep-sided and surprisingly deep for their size. That’s why you’ll find clusters of lakes in places like the inland areas around Petoskey and Gaylord.

Rivers in northern Michigan are direct products of glacial meltwater:
• As glaciers retreated, huge volumes of water carved channels through loose sand and gravel.
• These channels became today’s rivers, often following winding, natural paths rather than straight lines.
• Because the substrate is porous, groundwater feeds many rivers, keeping them cold, clear, and stable in flow—ideal for trout.

Several good trout rivers:
• Au Sable River – formed through outwash plains, known for steady flow and sandy bottom sections.
• Manistee River – a mix of glacial valleys and groundwater influence.
• Jordan River – tighter valley, more direct glacial carving, colder and more confined.

Glacial geology still controls how these rivers behave:
• Cold groundwater inputs → consistent temperatures (perfect for trout)
• Gravel and sand bottoms → ideal spawning habitat
• Meandering channels → create pools, riffles, and habitat diversity
• Wetlands and headwaters → act like sponges, regulating flow

In short, northern Michigan’s rivers aren’t accidental—they’re the lingering fingerprints of melting ice. The same forces that flattened mountains elsewhere created one of the most stable, trout-friendly river systems in the country.

See Michigan Geology


These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Pure Michigan Launches Snow Coverage Map

Events Calendar

Michigan Snow map for Feb 4, 2026 (graphic from Michigan.gov/snow)

from Moody on the Market

Now there’s a Pure Michigan Winter Snow Map to help plan out a winter trip, similar to the Fall Color Map.

Travel Michigan’s Nick Nerbonne says the project was launched at Michigan.org last year. It tracks the winter snow cover throughout the state each day.

"It’s at Michigan.org/Snow, and it shows a combination of forecasting and real-world data and observations and historical data that allows people to discover where the snow is falling so they can plan their winter getaway," Nerbonne said.

• Measurements shown are daily snowfall predictions
• Zoom into reveal more snowfall measurements and city names
• Select a city to display the seven-day forecast.
• Snowfall predictions beyond two weeks are based on climatological normals and should be considered an estimate

The map uses both National Weather Service information and satellite images.

See Michigan Snow Report


These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

NCT Maps Updates Change Mile Mark Numbers

segment of online NCT interactive maps

The North Country Trail Association's online, interactive maps to the trail have become an "overnight" hit. More and more, I hear people communicating with others about meeting locations, or defining segments by referring to the mile marker numbers.

This is a good thing, but can lead to misunderstandings, if one does not realize that these numbers can change. This is the beauty of the interactive maps, given that there is still a lot of work to do to get all of the trail off road. But it can also be problematic.

For example, the NCTA just published this information. "We're releasing a new round of updates for the North Country Trail in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Included in this round of updates - for the first time - are new maps that cover the NCT in Pennsylvania's Butler, Clarion and Venango Counties. These updates COMPLETE the section maps for the NCT in Pennsylvania, totaling just over 280 miles. The updates in Wisconsin and Michigan represent both trail relocations and improvements in trail data. In all cases, these updates have caused the half-mile waypoints to shift statewide in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan."

Each state is divided into half-mile segments, beginning at the western end of the trail in the state. Michigan's mile 0.0 is at the western end of the Upper Peninsula on Lake Road, just east of Wisconsin's mile 210.5. Whenever, the route changes, all the numbers in that state which are higher than the location of the change will automatically shift to reflect the change.

Personally, I've fallen victim to updates twice in the past 3 months. One person gave directions using the mile numbers, but by the time I needed to find those locations, the numbers had shifted a bit. Our most recent chapter hike began at Highbanks Rollway. Publicity was sent out listing this as mile 754, but by the week of the hike it had shifted to mile 755. Just be aware that these changes can and will occur.

Just to be on the safe side, be sure that if a critical meeting is involved, you describe the location in "traditional" terms in addition to giving a mile number.

Just remember, number shifts are a good thing, because they almost always mean more miles off road, or a the selection of a better route.

based on information from the North Country Trail Association

See North Country Trail maps
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

SW MI Non-Motorized Plan Offers Free Bike Trail Maps

from SW Michigan Planning Commission

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is excited to announce the completion of the 9 county non-motorized transportation plan and maps. The region wide vision created in the planning document is a tool for local and state agencies regarding the investment in non-motorized transportation around the region.

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission will update the 9-County Bike Map, and facilitate the development of a comprehensive, regional Non-Motorized Transportation Plan for MDOT's Southwest Region (Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren Counties).

The map includes the following non-motorized trails: Battle Creek Linear Trail, Holland-Zeeland Bike Path Network, Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, Kal-Haven Trail, Paul Henry Thornapple Trail, Portage Bicentennial Linear Park, and the Van Buren Trail.

Also on the map are mountain biking trails: Al Sabo Land Preserve, TK Lawless Park, Fort Custer Recreation Area, Kellogg Forest, Madeline Bertrand Park, Love Creek Park, Markin Glen Park, and Yankee Springs Rec Area.

A number of pdfs are available for planning an outing. Text descriptions of the trails give mileages, basic info, and contact. Maps are available in two resolutions for downloading. Note: the high resolution files are really large.

Non-motorized transportation plans seek to identify non-motorized routes for people to use as an alternative to traditional transportation methods such as driving a car. Non-motorized routes allow people to get out of their car and bike or walk to jobs, businesses, and community events.



See SW MI Non-Motorized Plan
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Free Map of Michigan Multi-Use Trails

from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance

As of January 2011, a new map of Michigan's multi-use trails is available. For a free copy of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Map and Directory send a self addressed stamped (.61 or 2 first class stamps) business size envelope to:

MTGA Trail Map
PO Box 27187
Lansing, MI 48909

If you prefer an interactive online map, go to: Michigan Trails Finder

These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Are e-Readers the Next Hot Outdoor Gift?

Kindle reader

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
from a news release of the Outdoor Industry Association

The Outdoor Industry Association believes that the electronic reader may become the hot holiday gift for outdoor lovers.

In July, Forrester Research predicted the number of e-book users in the United States would grow from approximately 1 million to 13 million by 2013, as prices drop from the current $250 to $400 range to the $99 price point.

Amazon's Kindle has led the field, but Barnes & Noble, Sony, and the new Spring Design are not far behind. Other large electronics names are likely to enter the market, which will help drive prices down.

Even with the battery, readers generally weigh less than 3/4 of a pound. Of the 136,000 books available for Kindle, there are 1,452 with outdoor and nature titles. Another 364 are available on water sports, 154 on mountaineering and102 on winter sports, according to Amazon.com. Titles include several hiking guides, such as “The Ultralight Backpacker: The Complete Guide to Simplicity and Comfort on the Trail” by Ryel Kestenbaum. The digital price is even less expensive than the paperback.

With a more rugged case, and the availability of maps, the e-reader could easily go to the woods.

E-books have the same potential as the iPod to shape outerwear and pack design in coming years. Amazon has contacted outdoor brands to encourage them to develop Kindle 2 accessories. This year Patagonia began shipping a water-resistant nylon case for the Kindle 2.

College bookstore managers expect that e-books will become standard issue at universities over the next five years. and JanSport research suspects that this will influence backpack design, although the standard daypack design will probably persist because college kids carry so much more than books in their daypacks.
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

NOAA Brings Great Lakes to Google Earth

Screen shot from NOAA's Google Earth tour

a news release of NOAA

NOAA is helping Americans peer beneath the surfaces of the five Great Lakes by providing Google Earth with data that now includes detailed three-dimensional mapping of Lakes Huron, Ontario, Erie, Superior and Michigan.

"NOAA’s data opens up the fascinating world underneath the planet’s largest fresh water system," said Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research and a member of Google's Ocean Advisory Council. "As an oceanographer, I find this an exciting use of scientific data to serve society."

Visitors to the new Great Lakes feature can explore the canyons and sandbars in eastern Lake Superior, the Lake Michigan mid-lake reef complex, and the old river channel – now underwater – that once connected Lakes Michigan and Huron at the Straits of Mackinac.

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Mich., teamed up with the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) in Boulder, Colo., to roduce the Google Earth tour to highlight some of the interesting coastal and subsurface features

"We were pleased to work with our partners to create this exciting first tour,” said Marie Colton, GLERL acting director. “I expect that others will see the potential of this tool and create their own Great Lakes tours and expand the possibilities."

The original Great Lakes bathymetric data were compiled by a NOAA NGDC-GLERL and Canadian Hydrographic Service team from archival U.S. and Canadian soundings spanning more than 75 years. David Schwab, a physical oceanographer at GLERL, generated a map of lake depths from the joint project and provided it to Google to form the basis for the Great Lakes topography.

The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on Earth, containing roughly 18 percent of the world supply. The lakes contain enough water to cover the entire surface of the continental United States to a depth of nine feet. The Great Lakes span more than 750 miles from west to east and their shoreline is equal to almost 44 percent of the circumference of the globe. Michigan's Great Lakes coastline alone is over 3,200 miles long, which is more coastline than any state but Alaska.

To highlight some of the interesting coastal and subsurface features of the Great Lakes, the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory has assembled a narrated Google Earth tour.

See the narrated Google Earth tour
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Get Off The Couch

Mapping a Greener Future

The following is an excerpt from a story which we believe is worthy of reading, but would lose too much of its value if it were re-written for presentation on this blog. Please link through for the rest of the story, but hurry back! ... Editor

by Dave Wortman

Green Map System

"For thousands of years, maps have played pivotal roles in human history. They've been used to chart voyages of discovery, find buried treasure, even fight wars. In our modern, car-oriented society, we depend on maps to help us get where we want to go. Today, communities are using the visual power of maps in a provocative new way: to chart a path toward a greener, more environmentally sustainable future.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, to New York City, students, teachers, and activists are creating green maps to promote farmer's markets, locally produced goods, natural food restaurants and environmentally sustainable businesses.

Green maps also are being used to reconnect people with community parks, bike paths, recycling centers and museums—unique places that give our communities a rich sense of identity, but are often overlooked in today's fast-paced culture... "

finish the extensive story at Mother Earth News - see FAIR USE notice.
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Greenmap.org
See Get Off The Couch