_Cisco Lake Region._ In the Cisco Lake Region there are many lakes,
mostly small, but several of a length of one to three miles. The
water-level in the Cisco Lake chain has been raised six or ten feet by
a dam across the outlet, and this change in water-level has killed the
trees along the lake borders, so that the lakes are fringed by a narrow
line of dead trees. The habitats of emerging vegetation and of aquatic
vegetation have been much altered by the change in water-level, and
these habitats cannot be well studied in these lakes. However, the
neighboring lakes in which the water-level has not been changed show
that the forests of the region originally came down to the water's
edge, and that there was little normal development of marsh or swamp.
The ridges between the lakes rise in general to heights of twenty-five
feet or more, though bluffs are not formed. These ridges are mostly
covered by mixed hardwood forest in which the hard maple, yellow birch,
hemlock, and linden are the dominant trees. There are numerous small
wet depressions, some of them containing small black spruce bogs, while
others include a few arbor-vitae mixed with linden and other typical
trees of the wet hardwood forest. Small areas of nearly pure hemlock
occur on some slopes near the lake shores. A few large tamarack bogs
are present.
Though the pines formerly occurring have been taken out, the region
otherwise is in nearly its native condition. A few former clearings
along the lake shores have grown up to brush or to white birch saplings
or small trees.
_Little Girl's Point Region._ Much of the region in the near vicinity
of Little Girl's Point has been cleared or burned, but a few miles to
the east and southeast there are still considerable areas of native
forest. The high ridge running through the region bears a splendid
forest of maple, yellow birch, and linden, with little if any hemlock.
However, on the steeper lower slopes hemlock occurs in nearly a pure
stand. At one place was found a nice grove of large white pines, mixed,
on the lower edge of the slope, with a few hemlocks. Black
spruce-tamarack bogs are extensive and arbor-vitae swamps occur
commonly. The extensive burned areas south of the point have grown up
to a thicket of aspen, birch, and various shrubs and saplings. A few
small areas are under cultivation.
_Region at the north end of Gogebic Lake._ Most of the region about the
north end of Gogebic Lake is low and wet. A number of small black ash
swamps occur near the lake, and further back there are extensive black
spruce bogs. The main forest is of a much mixed wet hardwood type,
sugar maple, linden, yellow birch, elm, and hemlock, being the dominant
species. The forest in most places reaches the edge of the lake, though
a few sandy beaches occur. However, the level of the water in the lake
has been raised a few feet by a dam across the outlet, and beaches were
probably more abundant before this occurred. The lake is so large,
about 13 miles long by 1 to 2 miles broad, that wave action is quite
pronounced.
One beaver meadow was studied, this meadow including areas of grasses
and of sedges, traversed by ditches, small mud-flats covered with low
rushes, and alder thickets.
Just north of Lake Gogebic Station there are some high hills having
bluffs on the southern exposures. These hills were visited, but they
had been extensively logged and burned over and no attempt was made to
trap for mammals on them.
Some large burned areas have grown up to sapling forests of aspens.
Near the towns of Lake Gogebic and Merriweather nearly all the forests
have been cleared away, but farther south on the sides of the lake the
woods are still in their natural condition.