The Apostle Islands and the Chequamegon Bay region form an archipelago of 22 islands about 30 miles long and 18 miles wide. All except Long Island are the tops of partially submerged sandstone hills extending from the Bayfield Peninsula. The islands range in size from 3-1/2 acres on Gull Island to 14,904 acres on Madeline Island, and rise 50 to 480 feet above Lake Superior. Their landforms include steep slopes and rocky cliffs 30 to 60 feet high, shaped by the waves of Lake Superior, and they are covered by northern hardwoods including birch, maple, hemlock, balsam fir, and pine. People have used the islands for centuries, with archeological evidence showing Indian use as early as 4000 B.C. French, British, and American trading posts operated on Madeline Island from 1693 until 1847, commercial fishing began in 1834, and sandstone quarries on the mainland and islands supplied brownstone to the building industry for 40 years. On June 27, 1969, Congress established the Apostle Island National Shoreline, to be administered by the National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, setting aside 20 of the 22 islands, excluding Madeline and Long Islands, and a strip of land along the western shore of the Bayfield Peninsula for the enjoyment of all.