North Manitou Island
 North Manitou Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Lake Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
| Coordinates | 45°07′10″N 86°01′01″W / 45.11944°N 86.01694°WCoordinates: 45°07′10″N 86°01′01″W / 45.11944°N 86.01694°W |
| Area | 22.3 sq mi (58 km2) |
| Administration | |
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United States
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| State | Michigan |
| County | Leelanau County |
| Township | Leland Township |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
North Manitou Island is located in Lake Michigan, approximately 12 miles (19 km) west-northwest of Leland, Michigan. It is nearly eight miles long and over four miles (6 km) wide, with 20 miles (32 km) of shoreline. It has a land area of 57.876 km2 (22.346 sq mi) and has no population. The smaller South Manitou Island lies to its southwest.
North Manitou Island is shaped like an upside-down teardrop, with the now-forested body of the 'drop' surrounding Lake Manitou, and the tail of the drop narrowing into sandy, exposed Dimmick's Point on the island's southeastern extremity. The ferry dock and ranger station are on the island's central eastern shore, directly east of Lake Manitou.
The island is in Leelanau County and is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, although it is over 6 miles (9.7 km) offshore. Park passes and camping fees are required. The island can be accessed by a ferry service from Leland; private watercraft are permitted with limited docking. No wheeled vehicles are allowed on the island other than those used by the National Park Service or to cart off a dead deer. No campfires are allowed on the island except at public firepits near the ranger station. Similarly there is only one water spigot, and one outhouse, in the same area.
A legend attributed to the Ojibwe explains the origin of the Manitou Islands and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Long ago the mother bear Mishe Mokwa and her two cubs sought to cross Lake Michigan from the Wisconsin shore to escape a great forest fire. The mother bear made it across, but her twin cubs, although they swam hard behind her, drowned in Lake Michigan. The great spirit covered them with sand to form the two Manitou islands. The mother bear lies and waits forever for her cubs to reach the shore - the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Most archeologists believe early habitation by Native Americans was only temporary due to the island's scarcity of natural resources and the abundance of resources on the mainland. Despite this, there are signs of activity by Native Americans and some of the earliest archeological sites ever found in Michigan are located there. This includes seven sites, mostly on the east side. These sites date back to between 8,000 and 600 BC. Items found include: stone and flint tools, a copper awl, pottery and the remains of a canoe.
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Wikipedia