Most Popular Post of 2020

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Here's the most popular post from 2020:

I hiked part of Sleeping Bear Dunes lakeshore today at Glen Haven.

The beaches of Lake Michigan usually appear tan or even whitish in color, but if you pick up a handful of sand and look closely, there is a mixture of colors. Silica and quartz give the sand its light color, but there are specks of black from the mineral magnetite. 

This mineral is heavier than the other grains, so it often gathers in bands or patches on the shoreline, sorted by wind and waves.

Today, I came across the largest deposit of magnetite I've ever seen along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. A long section of black sand on the beach.

Wave action has been strong along the lakeshore this winter, and the lake level set an all-time high earlier this year. This has led to increased amounts of magnetite deposited on the shoreline.

Watch the video below to see how deep the deposit was:

Yes, this mineral has been on the beaches for a long time. Here's a post I did about these black sands over a decade ago:

https://laketrek.blogspot.com/2009/06/black-sand.html

Post Viewed Most in 2009

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

Thank you all for reading my blog! It has now surpassed 158,000 page views.

Our fascination with the black sand found along the shores of our Great Lakes made this the 

post with the most views in 2009:

Black Sand

The wide stretches of beach on Lake Michigan usually appear tan or even whitish in color, but if you pick up a handful of sand and look closely, there is a mixture of colors. Silica and quartz give the sand its light color, but there are specks of black from the mineral magnetite. This mineral is heavier than the other grains, so it often gathers in bands or patches on the shoreline, sorted by wind and waves.








































Right at the waterline, magnetite often looks like a smeary, oily stain. On the face of dunes the patterns can approach art. And when blown around an obstruction, the black lines lend definition and depth to the shore.

The glaciers ground rock to these tiny grains. The wind has lifted these grains into lofting dunes. And the water continues to sort and smooth the shoreline.

The next segment of the journey will be some of the rockiest I will encounter in my adventure. The geology of the lake is interesting to study, but even more fascinating to walk step-by-step.