View source for Apostle Islands

{{Short description|Lake Superior archipelago in northern Wisconsin}}
{{rewrite|reason=Optional explanation|date=October 2025}}
{{Hatnote|For the [[List of national lakeshores and seashores of the United States|national lakeshore]], see [[Apostle Islands National Lakeshore]]. For the islands in the [[Crozet Archipelago]], see [[Îlots des Apôtres]].}}{{Infobox islands
| name                              = Apostle Islands
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| image_name                        = Ashland county, wisconsin, 1895.jpg
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| image_caption                     = Ashland County, Wisconsin, from 1895 U.S. Atlas with Apostle Islands located in the north
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| location                          = Lake Superior 
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The '''Apostle Islands''' are a group of 22 islands in [[Lake Superior]], off the [[Bayfield Peninsula]] in northern [[Wisconsin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=9378&search_term=apostle+islands|title=Apostle Islands<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2008-05-10|archive-date=2011-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611083544/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=9378&search_term=apostle%20islands|url-status=dead}}</ref> The majority of the islands are located in [[Ashland County, Wisconsin|Ashland County]]&mdash;only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in [[Bayfield County, Wisconsin|Bayfield County]]. All the islands except for [[Madeline Island]] are part of the [[Apostle Islands National Lakeshore]]. The islands in Ashland County are all in the Town of [[La Pointe, Wisconsin|La Pointe]], except for Long Island, which is in the Town of [[Sanborn, Wisconsin|Sanborn]], while those in Bayfield County are in the Towns of [[Russell, Bayfield County, Wisconsin|Russell]] and [[Bayfield (town), Wisconsin|Bayfield]].

==Environment==
"The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provides regionally diverse and unique plant communities."<ref name="plants">[http://www.nps.gov/apis/natures Plants] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518010743/http://www.nps.gov/apis/natures |date=May 18, 2008 }}. [[National Park Service]]. 4 March 2008.</ref> "Over 800 plant species occur within the lakeshore, including Wisconsin listed endangered and threatened species."<ref name="plants" />  The Apostles are dominated by [[boreal forest]], composed largely of [[white spruce]] (''Picea glauca'') and [[Abies balsamea|balsam fir]] (''Abies balsamea''), often mixed with [[white birch]] (''Betula papyrifera''), [[white cedar]] (''Thuja occidentalis''), [[eastern white pine|white pine]] (''Pinus strobus''), [[Populus balsamifera|balsam poplar]] (''Populus balsamifera'') and [[quaking aspen]] (''Populus tremuloides''). On [[Madeline Island]], [[Stockton Island]], and several other islands, a unique bog dune ecosystem can be found near deep [[bay]]s and enclosed [[lagoon]]s.

According to the [[National Park Service]], "One of the greatest concentrations of black bears in North America is found on Stockton Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Bears also regularly inhabit Sand and Oak islands, and, due to their mobility, may be found on just about any of the Apostle Islands."<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/apis/naturescience/bear.htm Bear of the Apostles.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724233328/http://www.nps.gov/apis/naturescience/bear.htm |date=July 24, 2008 }} National Park Service. 4 March 2008.</ref>

[[File:Devils Island Seacaves Lake Superior.jpg|thumb|left|Sea caves at Devils Island]]

"The Lakeshore provides important nesting habitat for the following colonial nesting birds: [[American herring gull|herring]] and [[ring-billed gull]]s, [[double-crested cormorant]]s, [[great blue heron]]s, and [[American cliff swallow|cliff swallow]]s. [[Gull Island (Wisconsin)|Gull]] and [[Eagle Island (Wisconsin)|Eagle Island]]s combined have 88% of the lakeshore's breeding herring gull populations and 80% of the herring gull breeding population on the entire Wisconsin shore of Lake Superior. Eagle Island has the only great blue heron rookery in the park."<ref>[https://home.nps.gov/apis/learn/nature/birds.htm Birds.] 8 January 2008. National Park Service. 4 March 2008.</ref>

==Sea caves==
[[File:Apostle Island Sea Cave in Winter.jpg|thumb|right|Some winters the lake freezes solid enough that the Park Service lets people walk from Meyers Beach across the lake ice to see the caves.]]
Good examples of the [[sea cave]]s of the Great Lakes are located on the shorelines of the Apostle Islands.  Examples include the following locations: Swallow Point on [[Sand Island (Wisconsin)|Sand Island]], the North Shore of [[Devils Island (Wisconsin)|Devils Island]], and near Mawikwe Bay<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 June 2007 |title=Squaw Bay gets new name |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/2364880-squaw-bay-gets-new-name |website=Duluth News Tribune}}</ref> on the mainland. Arches and delicate chambers are visible. During the winters, visitors can see frozen waterfalls and chambers filled with delicate icicles.
[[File:Apostle Islands Sea Caves.jpg|thumb|Devil's Island sea caves, taken from Lake Superior. ]]

==History==
Though archeological finds have pointed to traces of human activity as early as 100{{nbsp}}BC, the earliest known full-time settlers to the islands were [[Anishinaabe]] peoples migrating from the east coast beginning in around 950{{nbsp}}AD, following the waterways comprising the established trade routes that had connected the eastern nations to western nations for thousands of years.  Details and stories of these migration were preserved in birch bark scrolls; some can now be seen preserved in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} As these migrations continued west, they created several prominent settlements, but when the wild rice growing in the marshes of the shallow Chequamegon Bay, they made Mooningwanekaaning (now Madeline Island) their capital, with settlements on Stockton Island and Manitou Island as well as along the shoreline. {{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

On and around these islands, the [[Ojibwa]] people discovered and innovated agricultural advancements, including excavating copper deposits and creating specialized tools for agriculture, hunting and fishing, the use of canoes in rice harvesting, conjugal collaborative farming, and the Three Sisters Crop Complex, enabling the Ojibwa to greatly expand their population, territory and power outward in all directions creating an enormous nation. {{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} However, these rapid advances in technology, along with five more centuries of migration from the east, also caused divisive ideological disagreements over traditionalism, and ultimately, the Potowatomi, Ottawa, and other tribes split off, leaving the Ojibwe alone wielding full control over the entire Lake Superior region, with the Islands remaining their current power center, but all the many Mississippi nations' ancient cultural and spiritual home.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

When the early French traders arrived around 1640, the capital city on Madeline Island was given the name La Pointe, and by 1693 it was fortified and included as an official Trading Post city in the Empire of New France, but with the westward expansion of European colonialism, conflicts boiled into formal wars from 1775 onward. {{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Over the next 35 years, as more and more Native populations were concentrated into increasingly smaller areas, these areas became unable to provide sustenance for the swelling populations, and in 1811, the recognized principal Chief Buffalo from La Pointe led an army of Ojibwa to fight in Tecumseh's War against the U.S..  However, he had a change of heart and pursued diplomacy when he met Michel Caddotte in Sault Ste Marie, who convinced him that by avoiding violence against the US, he could negotiate better treaties for the Ojibwa people.  Though the American flag was hoisted over the Islands in 1816, Chief Buffalo fought decades of the United States' government and mining and lumber capitalists continual and sometimes deadly efforts to completely remove the Ojibwe people, successfully securing permanent reserves of land including the mainland coastline nearest the Islands for the [[Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa|Red Cliff band]], as well as entire reservations for other bands in the region.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The islands were renamed the Apostle Islands by [[New France]] historian [[Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix]],<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/diary/003429.asp Historic Diaries: James Doty, 1820]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Wisconsin Historical Society; Retrieved July 26, 2008</ref> who renamed them after the [[12 apostles]] (for the 12 largest islands).<ref name="SacredSitesOfWisconsin">{{cite book|last=Paprock|first=John-Brian|author2=Teresa Peneguy Paprock|title=Sacred Sites of Wisconsin|publisher=Big Earth Publishing|year=2001|isbn=1-931599-01-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgf7JmzmBO0C&dq=%22madeline+island%22+%22spiritual%22&pg=PA105|page=105}}</ref>

In 2018, the Apostle Islands were chosen as Wisconsin's entry for the [[America the Beautiful quarters]] series.<ref name="us-mint">{{cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/america-the-beautiful-quarters/apostle-islands-national-lakeshore |title=Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Quarter |website=[[United States Mint]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705003606/https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/america-the-beautiful-quarters/apostle-islands-national-lakeshore |archive-date=5 July 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Islands==
All islands lie in the Town of [[La Pointe, Wisconsin|La Pointe]], in Ashland County, unless indicated otherwise.<ref name="nps-assessment">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/nature/upload/APIS_Final1.pdf |title=Assessment of Coastal Water Resources and Watershed Conditions at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin) |website=[[National Park Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222052933/https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/nature/upload/APIS_Final1.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!Size ([[Acres]])
!Notes
|-
|[[Madeline Island]]
||15359.45 Acres
|"Mooniingwanekaaning", Largest, inhabited, & not part of the [[Apostle Islands National Lakeshore]].
|-
|[[Stockton Island]]
||9892.46 Acres
|"Wiisaakodewan"
|-
|[[Gull Island (Wisconsin)|Gull Island]]
|3.51 Acres
|"Gayaashko", The smallest island
|-
|[[Eagle Island (Wisconsin)|Eagle Island]]
|27.7 Acres
|"Naabikwaani", Westernmost; in Town of [[Bayfield (town), Wisconsin|Bayfield]], [[Bayfield County, Wisconsin|Bayfield County]]
|-
|[[Outer Island (Wisconsin)|Outer Island]]
|7860.88 Acres
|"Gichi-ishkwaayaan", Easternmost and northernmost, site of [[Outer Island Light]]house
|-
|[[Oak Island (Wisconsin)|Oak Island]]
|5024.09 Acres
|"Mitigominikaani"
|-
|[[Sand Island (Wisconsin)|Sand Island]]
|2859.33 Acres
|"Waabaabikaa", In Town of Bayfield, Bayfield County, site of [[Sand Island Light (Wisconsin)|Sand Island Lighthouse]]
|-
|[[Basswood Island]]
|1914.28 Acres
|"Wiigobiish"
|-
|[[Bear Island (Wisconsin)|Bear Island]]
|1814.03 Acres
|"Makwa"
|-
|[[Michigan Island]]
|1538.74 Acres
|"Bagidaabii", Site of [[Michigan Island Light]]house
|-
|[[Hermit Island (Wisconsin)|Hermit Island]]
|787.60 Acres
|"Eshkwegwindeg"
|-
|[[Cat Island (Wisconsin)|Cat Island]]
|1339.07 Acres
|"Gaagaagiwanzhiikaag"
|-
|[[Otter Island (Wisconsin)|Otter Island]]
|1322.68 Acres
|"Anweshin-nigig"
|-
|[[Manitou Island (Wisconsin)|Manitou Island]]
|1325.20 Acres
|"Manidoo"
|-
|[[Rocky Island (Wisconsin)|Rocky Island]]
|1049.32 Acres
|"Ziinzibaakwado"
|-
|[[Long Island (Wisconsin)|Long Island]]
|308.7 Acres
|"Zaagawaamikong", Southernmost; not geologically part of the Apostle Islands, but rather an extension of [[Chequamegon Point]]; in Town of [[Sanborn, Wisconsin|Sanborn]], Ashland County
|-
|[[Ironwood Island (Wisconsin)|Ironwood Island]]
|666.05 Acres
|"Gaa-maananoonsi"
|-
|[[York Island (Wisconsin)|York Island]]
|273.83 Acres
|"Miskwaabiimizhikaag", In Town of [[Russell, Bayfield County, Wisconsin|Russell]], Bayfield County
|-
|[[Raspberry Island (Wisconsin)|Raspberry Island]]
|287.6 Acres
|"Miskominikaani", In Town of Russell, Bayfield County, site of [[Raspberry Island Light]]house
|-
|[[Devils Island (Wisconsin)|Devils Island]]
|310.28 Acres
|"Maji-manidoo", Site of [[Devils Island Light]]house
|-
|[[South Twin Island (Wisconsin)|South Twin Island]]
|336.37 Acres
|"Waaboozo"
|-
|[[North Twin Island (Wisconsin)|North Twin Island]]
|165.7 Acres
|"Miskwasinikaag"
|}

==Climate==
{|
|-
|{{floatbox|[[File:Apostle Islands on March 24, 2022, cropped from R2AWF03242022276038, IRS AWiFS.png|thumb|left|upright=2|Taken by [[Resourcesat-2]] on {{nowrap|March 24, 2022}}]]}}{{climate chart
|  Apostle Islands
| -16| -11| 69
| -17| -12| 74
| -7| -2| 64
| -2| 3| 86
| 2| 6| 163
| 9| 13| 147
| 15| 18| 100
| 13| 16| 142
| 13| 16| 87
| 7| 9| 86
| 4| 4| 93
| -6| -2| 77
|float=left
|clear=left
|source = <ref name = "nasa">{{Cite web|url= http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/dataset_index.php|title= NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index|access-date= 30 January 2016|publisher= NASA|archive-date= 6 August 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130806035941/http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/dataset_index.php|url-status= dead}}</ref>
}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Apostle Islands Lighthouses]]
* [[Apostle Islands National Lakeshore]]
* [[La Pointe, Wisconsin]]
* [[La Pointe (community), Wisconsin]]
* [[Big Bay State Park]]
* [[Islands of the Midwest]]
* [[List of islands of the United States]]
* [[Islands of the Great Lakes]]
* [[Populated islands of the Great Lakes]]
* [[Kechewaishke]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/apis/index.htm|title=Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (U.S. National Park Service)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070830124232/http://www.friendsoftheapostleislands.org/index.html Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore web site]
*[http://madelineislandmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org Madeline Island History Museum]
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/31266971/Apostle-Islands|title=Apostle Islands &#124; PDF}} "A Unique Collection of Islands" book
*{{Cite web|url=https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-154dn40s6r|title=Lake Superior Trials}} "Lake Superior Trials" public radio report

{{Apostle Islands |state=expanded}}
{{Chequamegon Bay}}
{{Wisconsin}}
{{Greatlakes|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Apostle Islands| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Lake Superior]]
[[Category:Islands of Ashland County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Landforms of Bayfield County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Lake islands of Wisconsin]]