Michigan’s Hidden Island Secrets: Where Borders Blur on Water

When someone thinks of Michigan's land, it's almost certainly the two large peninsulas that comprise the state. Perhaps a little deeper it's the state's Great Lakes islands like Isle Royale and Mackinac.

But there are a few very curious cases where Michigan shares an island with another state or even another country. Here's a bit of nearly hidden state geography.

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Turtle Island is in the middle of Lake Erie directly on the Michigan/Ohio border. It is located 1.8 miles off of the coast of Michigan near the Lost Peninsula. The island is 4.6 miles north of the Toledo suburb of Harbor View.

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The island is just an acre and a half in size. It was home to a lighthouse and more recently some failed housing developments.

Here's what the island looks like from above showing where the state line runs. The majority of the island is in Ohio.

This island is privately owned and no trespassing signs are posted.

Seaway Island: Michigan's Unexpected International Land Border

Another Michigan shared island is Seaway Island in Lake St Clair. The island is shared between Michigan and Ontario, or perhaps more properly the Bkejwanong First Nation territory.

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The land is almost fully in Canada but due to some shifting channels, some of the island now does cross the international border and creates the only land border between Michigan and Canada.

This map shows the southern tip of Seaway Island and the land border.

There are some near-shared islands with Michigan and its neighbors as well.

Near Misses: Islands on the Edge of Michigan's Borders

In the Detroit River lies the bordering Stony Island (belonging to Michigan) and Crystal Island (owned by Ontario) both islands have been artificially built up to provide shipping names and get very close to the border in the middle of the river.

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Through the narrow passages of the St Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron there are countless islands but the border between the two countries snake between them and there are no shared island territory.