Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, National marine conservation area in Thunder Bay District, Canada
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area extends 140 km east from Thunder Cape, at the tip of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, to Bottle Point, and south to the Canada-US border, where it adjoins Isle Royale National Park. It covers about 10,000 km² of lakebed and water plus 60 km² of islands and mainland shoreline, including the Wilson Islands off Rossport.
Protection was first proposed in the mid-1990s, with formal plans announced in 2002. In 2007 Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the park in Nipigon, and the First Nations of the northern Superior region endorsed it once satisfied it respected the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850. The federal bill received royal assent on June 24, 2015, and the area was legally created on September 1, 2015.
The shores hold two areas of First Nation pictographs, and Sibley Peninsula has archaeological sites from Paleoindian, Archaic and Woodland settlements. The First Nations of the northern Superior region, represented by regional grand chief Wilfred King, endorsed the conservation area once satisfied it respected the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850.
The area is most accessible from late spring through early fall, when boating, kayaking, and hiking along the shore are all possible. Lake conditions can shift quickly, so checking forecasts before heading out is always a good idea, whatever the season.
More than 50 shipwrecks from different eras rest on the lake floor within this area, ranging from wooden sailing vessels to steel steamships. Because Lake Superior's water is extremely cold and low in nutrients, many of these wrecks have been preserved in a way that is rare for other lake systems, making them a draw for divers.
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