Lake Superior Watershed
Mapping Areas of Natural and Ecological Importance
"To protect, maintain, and restore high-quality habitat sites in the Lake Superior Basin and the ecosystem processes that sustain them. Land and water uses should be designated and located compatible with the protective and productive ecosystem functions provided by these natural landscape features"
Interactive Web Map
This map is intended to demonstrate the status of an ongoing project to identify important habitat in the Lake Superior region. Data are summarized from existing information submitted to the Lake Superior Partnership Working Group. While this database is extensive, it is not complete. Important habitats exist outside of this database.
Important Habitat main map. Zoom into areas of interest for labels to appear. Click on features for more information.
For a PDF version of the map, click on this button.
Habitats and Ecosystems
Anishinaabeg Gichigami (Lake Superior)
The Lake Superior basin is one of the most beautiful and unique ecosystems in North America. Not only is Lake Superior the largest of the Great Lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world. It contains almost 3,000 cubic miles of water, an amount that could fill all the other Great Lakes plus three additional Lake Eries.
Island Habitats
Island habitats contribute significantly to the biodiversity of the Basin and have been identified as special ecological community types. Lake Superior is a cold water-low nutrient lake. Shoreline micro-climates can create conditions that are suitable for plant species found only in arctic or alpine regions. Fortunately, many of the islands in Lake Superior enjoy protected status.
Shorelines
Lake Superior shorelines provide a range of habitats that can be substantially different from adjacent inland areas. Distinctive physical landforms such as sand spits, bluffs, cobble beaches, cliffs, mud flats, sand beaches, and low banks offer unique habitats for plant and animal species. Shoreline habitats also play a critical role for migrating wildlife and shorebirds. Unfortunately, human influences and manmade structures also tend to concentrate in or near shoreline habitat features used by wildlife.
Coastal Wetlands
Wetlands provide habitat for fish and wildlife and are areas of high plant biodiversity. Wetlands also protect shoreline areas from erosion and buffer runoff following storm events. Coastal wetlands are approximately 10% of the Lake Superior shore, mostly associated with protected bays, estuaries, and barrier beach lagoons. The stretch of shoreline between Duluth, Minnesota and Marble Point, Wisconsin has perhaps the most abundant and richest areas of costal wetland habitat on Lake Superior.
Headwater Rivers and Streams
At its headwaters, the Lake Superior watershed has critically important wetland and forest habitats.
Manoomin (Wild Rice)
Translated from Ojibwemowin (Ojibwa language), manoomin means the “good berry,” and it is a food that has long provided both physical and spiritual sustenance to the Ojibwe people. Some teachings relate that the Ojibwe people migrated from the East having been told to settle when they find the food that grows upon the water, which they discovered in the waters of the Lake Superior region. Highly nutritious, manoomin remains important to the Ojibwe diet today and is also one of several feast foods, traditionally served during ceremonies or community feasts.
Cold Water Fish
But when it comes to sustaining life in its vast, cold waters, Lake Superior is considered “ultra-oligotrophic” because of the very low concentrations of nutrients and other materials to support life in its waters. Despite that, it supports both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Inland Lakes
There are almost 7000 inland lakes in the Lake Superior basin. These lakes are characteristic of the regional landscape. Inland lakes are impacted by water quality degradation from mine effluent, mine tailings, and road salt as well as altered water levels from mining and damming. Sedimentation from logging and construction of impervious surfaces are also of concern. Despite these challenges, the status of inland lake habitats is generally good.
Anishinaabeg Gichigami (Lake Superior)
The Lake Superior basin is one of the most beautiful and unique ecosystems in North America. Not only is Lake Superior the largest of the Great Lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world. It contains almost 3,000 cubic miles of water, an amount that could fill all the other Great Lakes plus three additional Lake Eries.
With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes. The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long. The drainage basin, totaling 49,300 square miles, encompasses parts of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario.
Island Habitats
Island habitats contribute significantly to the biodiversity of the Basin and have been identified as special ecological community types. Lake Superior is a cold water-low nutrient lake. Shoreline micro-climates can create conditions that are suitable for plant species found only in arctic or alpine regions. Fortunately, many of the islands in Lake Superior enjoy protected status.
Shorelines
Lake Superior shorelines provide a range of habitats that can be substantially different from adjacent inland areas. Distinctive physical landforms such as sand spits, bluffs, cobble beaches, cliffs, mud flats, sand beaches, and low banks offer unique habitats for plant and animal species. Shoreline habitats also play a critical role for migrating wildlife and shorebirds. Unfortunately, human influences and manmade structures also tend to concentrate in or near shoreline habitat features used by wildlife.
Coastal Wetlands
Wetlands provide habitat for fish and wildlife and are areas of high plant biodiversity. Wetlands also protect shoreline areas from erosion and buffer runoff following storm events. Coastal wetlands are approximately 10% of the Lake Superior shore, mostly associated with protected bays, estuaries, and barrier beach lagoons. The stretch of shoreline between Duluth, Minnesota and Marble Point, Wisconsin has perhaps the most abundant and richest areas of costal wetland habitat on Lake Superior.
Headwater Rivers and Streams
At its headwaters, the Lake Superior watershed has critically important wetland and forest habitats.
Manoomin (Wild Rice)
Translated from Ojibwemowin (Ojibwa language), manoomin means the “good berry,” and it is a food that has long provided both physical and spiritual sustenance to the Ojibwe people. Some teachings relate that the Ojibwe people migrated from the East having been told to settle when they find the food that grows upon the water, which they discovered in the waters of the Lake Superior region. Highly nutritious, manoomin remains important to the Ojibwe diet today and is also one of several feast foods, traditionally served during ceremonies or community feasts.
Manoomin is a keystone species that provides many ecological benefits. Within its core range in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin there may be no food more important to waterfowl, being readily and heavily consumed by mallards, blue-winged teal, ring-necked ducks. The habitat it provides species ranging from moths to muskrat to moose and adds to the biological diversity of the wetlands where it is found.
Wild rice can also help maintain water quality by binding loose soils, tying-up nutrients and slowing winds across shallow wetlands. These factors can increase water clarity and reduce algae blooms.
Cold Water Fish
But when it comes to sustaining life in its vast, cold waters, Lake Superior is considered “ultra-oligotrophic” because of the very low concentrations of nutrients and other materials to support life in its waters. Despite that, it supports both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Historically, commercial fishing operations harvested whitefish, lake trout, lake herring and sturgeon. Lake Superior supports the only remaining naturally sustaining population of lake trout in the Great Lakes. One subspecies of lake trout, the fatty siscowet, basically thrives only in the deep waters and consistently chilly temperatures of Lake Superior.
Inland Lakes
There are almost 7000 inland lakes in the Lake Superior basin. These lakes are characteristic of the regional landscape. Inland lakes are impacted by water quality degradation from mine effluent, mine tailings, and road salt as well as altered water levels from mining and damming. Sedimentation from logging and construction of impervious surfaces are also of concern. Despite these challenges, the status of inland lake habitats is generally good.
Map History
The first map was published in 1996. Its purpose was to summarize important habitat and protection efforts as part of the Lake Superior Binational Program. The Binational Program called for:
- An inventory of existing habitat in the Basin.
- Activities to protect natural resources, with special emphasis on protecting the habitats of threatened and endangered species.
- Activities to restore or reclaim important areas
The first map was produced as a hardcopy only.
The second map was published in 2006 and had the same general purpose and objectives as the first map. It incorporated advances in GIS technology and new data. The static map is available in hardcopy and digital versions. It was produced by the Geoscience Service Center of Thunder Bay, Ontario with input from agencies in the Lake Superior Binational Program.
Click on the button below to view or download the 2016 map.
The third version, completed in 2024, builds upon the data generated for past maps and expands information on ecosystems and habitats of particular significance in the Lake Superior basin. It is available as static hardcopy and digital maps as well as an interactive webmapping application. Mapping products were produced and are maintained by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) with the cooperation of the other agencies of the Superior Partnership Working Group (the successor organization to the Lake Superior Binational Program). The goals and objectives of the map remain the same as previous versions.
