Apple Island, a 35-acre island in the center of Orchard Lake, is a geological rarity because inland bodies of water as small as Orchard Lake seldom have islands this large. Its soils are varied, different from and more fertile than those on the mainland, supporting two champion trees, millions of sugar maples, and more than 400 species of flora, including many rare varieties in Oakland County. The island contains examples of every type of ecological system identified within the Southeastern Michigan region. Near the source of the Huron, Clinton, and Rouge river systems, it provided an easily accessible meeting place. Native peoples were drawn there for the safety of an island, where approaching visitors could be identified, and because islands were sacred. Apple Island was once known as Menahsagorning, an English pronunciation of the Anishinaabek name meaning “apple place.” Apples were brought to the area by the early French, and apple trees grew on the island until the 1877 tornado. The island was donated to West Bloomfield School District in 1970, and since the 1980s Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society volunteers have led annual island tours for West Bloomfield School District 2nd grade students and the public.