Gravel Island (Wisconsin)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Ecological Services crew banding on Gravel Island, 1988 | |
  Gravel Island  Gravel Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Door County, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 45°15′13″N 86°57′46″W / 45.2536003°N 86.9628926°W |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Highest elevation | 581 ft (177.1 m) |
| Administration | |
| State | Wisconsin |
| County | Door County |
| Town | Liberty Grove |
Gravel Island is an island in Lake Michigan. It is located in Ellison Bay, in the town of Liberty Grove, Wisconsin.[1][2] The Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge is made up of Gravel Island, and nearby Spider Island. The island is uninhabited,[3] and a botanist who visited in 1999 was unable to find any vascular plants on the island.[4]
In 2022, a large number of dead Caspian terns were found on Gravel Island, which were part of a larger die-off on Lake Michigan islands due to avian influenza.[5]
A Native American name for the island is Mah-ko-me-ne-shine-me-nis or "Bear Island". A legend published in the early 1900s relates an incident four hundred years prior where a spirit bear was seen crossing the lake from the east shore. The Potawatomi beckoned him ashore. Since then they call the island Old Bear Cub island.[6]
