Sand Resources of Southeastern Lake Michigan.
Abstract
About 2,072 square kilometers (800 square miles) of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan between Manistee, Michigan, and Burns Harbor, Indiana, was surveyed to assess potential sand and gravel resources. The survey data consist of 915 kilometers (569 miles) of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, side-scan sonar records, and 93 cores a maximum of 6.1 meters (20 feet) long. Bathymetric survey limits are the -3.7-meter (-12 feet) contour lakeward to about the -37-meter (-120 feet) contour. The most common sediment types found are clean, fine to coarse quartz sand and silt and clay. Sand appears to predominate in surface deposits and to be the primary constituent of shoals and ridges present in several locales. Silt and clay deposits are the most common subbottom sediment type; clay, gravel, and till-like mixtures of sandy-silty pebbles occur locally. Indurated shale occurs in the area near New Buffalo, Michigan. Results show that the highest potential for sand is in the area between Whitehall and Saugatuck, Michigan. Smaller deposits appear to occur between Manistee and Whitehall, Michigan, and from Saugatuck to 15 kilometeres (9.3 miles) south of Benton Harbor, Michigan. The region with lowest potential for sand resources is from Benton Harbor south to Burns Harbor, Indiana, where a thin veneer of sand overlies silt and clay. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA073817
Entities
People
- Dennis A. Prins
- Edward P. Meisburger
- S. Jeffress Williams
Organizations
- Coastal Engineering Research Center