Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes.  It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.  It is the world's third-largest freshwater lake by volume and the largest by volume in North America.
Lake Superior has a surface area of 82,103 km² which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria.  Its average depth is 147 m with a maximum depth of 406 m.  Lake Superior contains 12,100 km³ of water - there is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North AND South America to a depth of 30 centimetres.  The shoreline of the lake stretches 4,387 km.  All in all, that's one big lake!

The Ojibew call the lake gichi-gami meaning "be a great sea."

Lake Superior Provincial Park is approx. 120 kms north of Sault Ste. Marie and that was the destination for today - to do some hiking and most importantly do some 'swimming' in Lake Superior.  Okay, perhaps not actual 'swimming' per se - if you've ever been in Lake Superior you'll know how cold it is - but with unseasonably warm summer temperatures this year some of the more shallow and protected bays along Lake Superior have warmed up to the point where the hardy will use the words "very refreshing" while 'swimming'.

First stop was Katherine Cove, a lovely little bay with a sandy beach and "refreshing" lake temperatures.

Next stop was Pinguisibi (Sand River) for some hiking.  Pinguisibi is the Ojibwe name for "river of fine white sand".  This river was an ancient travel route used by the Ojibwe as they hunted, fished and trapped northwards into the interior.  The hiking trail follows alongside the river for about 6 kms and there are some beautiful waterfalls to be seen along the way.

Agawa Rock Pictographs were the next stop today.  Rising abruptly from Lake Superior is Agawa Rock.  Here, red ochre figures painted on a canvas of stone record the stories of generations of Ojibwe.  Some of the achievements, adventures and visions which influenced the Ojibwe live on today, in the form of rock paintings.  A diverse series survives at Agawa.  These mute reminders - faint red figures against a grainy wash of granite - communicate some feeling of the traditions and dreams.

 Misshepezhieu - the water spirit.  This figure has a lynx-like head with horns, a symbol of power, with the body and claws of a lynx and a spiny mane.  Sometimes this creature is known as the "great lynx" and it has appeared with some frequency in Lake Superior pictographs.  It is believed that Misshepezhieu controlled the conditions of the waters.  If he was content, the water would be calm, but once enraged, Misshepezhieu could stir up the lake with a lash of his tail. A canoe is behind him and serpents underneath

canoe figure and caribou or deer

Pancake Bay Provincial Park was the last stop, to once again enjoy a sandy beach and have one last 'refreshing' wade in Lake Superior.

Back to Sault Ste. Marie for a later dinner along the St. Mary's River - just in time for sunset.