Middle Island

Welcome, esteemed explorer, to Middle Island. As you step onto this rugged, wave-battered shoreline in the western basin of Lake Erie, you have achieved a unique geographical distinction. …

We begin our journey at the extreme southern tip of the island, the very edge of the Canadian border. The bedrock beneath your feet is composed of ancient, Devonian-era limestone, aggressively sculpted and smoothed by the…

Moving inland from the rocky shore, the atmosphere changes drastically, becoming almost oppressive. The smell of ammonia is overpowering, stinging the eyes and throat. …

Pushing past the devastated nesting zones, we arrive at a small, surviving pocket of the island's interior that gives us a glimpse of its original, pristine majesty. This is the heart of the Carolinian forest sanctuary. …

Hidden beneath a thick blanket of creeping vines and fallen debris, we stumble upon a series of concrete foundations and crumbled masonry. It takes a sharp eye and a vivid imagination to reconstruct the history embedded in these…

Navigating toward the western edge of the island, our boots strike a large, circular arrangement of dressed limestone blocks, perfectly level and unmistakably human-made. These stones are the remnants of the old Middle Island…

We conclude our exploration on the northern shoreline, an area characterized by massive, flat slabs of limestone that shelve gently into the lake. Looking due north across the water, the thin, green sliver of Point Pelee National…

As our expedition on Middle Island draws to a close, we are left with a complex, interwoven tapestry of impressions. This tiny, eighteen-hectare speck of land at the bottom of Canada represents a microcosm of our broader…