Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the world, almost chemically pure, with a mean temperature of 39 degrees, a depth to 1302 feet, a length of 383 miles, an area of 31,820 square miles, and an elevation of 601 feet above sea level. Starting in 1666 and for nearly 200 years, explorers, fur traders, miners and missionaries journeyed along this south shore in bark canoes. The original natural entry to Superior Bay, one mile north-westward, was wide, shallow, and dangerous in windy weather.
