Round Island Channel

The Round Island Channel has been in active use since before the arrival of European explorers.

With the discovery of significant hematite mines in northern Minnesota in the late 1800s, and the construction of steel mills shortly after 1900 along the shores of southern Lake Michigan in and around Gary, Indiana, the Round Island Channel became an essential element in one of the most significant commodity supply pipelines of the Great Lakes.

The channel is maintained to a project depth of 30 feet (9.1 meters) in line with U.S.-Canadian agreements governing the operation of Great Lakes navigable waterways and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

This depth is sufficient to provide safe water for lake freighters as massive as 1,000 feet (300 m) long.

[1] The Round Island Channel forms the ending points of the annual Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac and its counterpart, the Port Huron to Mackinac Race.