Lakes and Beaches

Natural sand beaches are not common along Lake Erie, but where they exist, they offer records of the lake's history. As the Wisconsin glacier retreated, it left in its wake both clay and silt that sank to form the lake's bottom and sand and gravel that rose in ridge-shaped deposits, trapping the water inside. The sand beaches of ancient Lake Maumee have become some of Cleveland's busiest streets, reminding us that the lake once sat 200 feet above its present level.

Prey to the dynamic forces of wind and water, sand beaches are inhospitable environments for plant life. But where sand deposits are large enough, dunes may form and foster certain hardy, adaptable species in their shadows. We can see Lake Erie dunes at Headland Dunes State Nature Preserve. During the Wisonsinan's retreat, saltwater from the St. Lawrence River flooded the glacier-crushed basin and turned Lake Erie into the lower end of the "St. Lawrence Sea." Two thousand years later, an ice block at Niagara Falls broke free and the saltwater retreated, but Atlantic coastal plants that had found a home on the Lake Erie dunes remained.

Today, in this fragile, windswept environment, we can still find Atlantic species such as the beach pea, a legume that compensates for the dearth of minerals in the sand by its ability to fix nitrogen. Look also for the sea rocket, seaside spurge and purple sand-grass. Like the prairie, the dunes are a study in natural adaptation, with plants sporting extensive root networks and folding leaves in order to trap moisture. These durable plants help strengthen the dunes against wind, allowing vines and trees to move into the marshy areas just behind them.

In the past 200 years, human beings have played a great part in shaping the unstable beach landscape. As mechanical improvements gave birth to the "weekend," beaches became the epicenters of colorful, bustling resorts like the one at Geneva-on-the-Lake. Many Lake Erie dunes fell prey to a drive to "improve" the beaches, opening ever-wider areas to sunbathers. To understand why Headlands Beach has been growing steadily further out into the lake, we need only look east to the piers at Fairport Harbor, built by the federal government in 1827. The piers trap sand from eastbound currents and sweep it westward toward the beach, counteracting the natural process of erosion.

Most of Ohio's lakes (including Lake Erie), are in fact not "lakes" in the strict sense. A "true lake" has no outlets and loses water only by evaporation. This makes it subject to gradual filling with sediment, eventually transforming the lake into a bog or marsh.

Ohio's true lakes are glacial remnants. Some came from "calves," blocks of ice the glacier shook off on its retreat north, while others were trapped by moraines -- ridges of sediment that formed at the ice sheet's edge. Most of the lakes were shallow and muddy, well on their way to becoming bogland when European settlers arrived. Pymatuning Lake, a prime fishing spot on the Pennsylvania border, is a good example of a lake created by human intervention. Formerly a swamp, it became a hook-shaped lake when Pennsylvania dammed its outlets in order to control the course of the Shenango and Beaver rivers.

Lake Erie's beaches tell a story about the rise and fall of American recreation and tourism. Following the Civil War, improvements to rail and steamboat travel, as well as emerging advice from the medical community for folks to spend time by the water or countryside, led to a blossoming of waterfront resorts. Opened in 1870 as a bathhouse, Cedar Point was one of many resorts built to attract new middle-class travelers. Today it is the second oldest amusement park in North America, with more than 3 million visitors each year. Lakeside, a quieter getaway founded as a Methodist summer retreat, reminds us of the link between nature and spirituality that nineteenth-century authors like Emerson cemented in the minds of many Americans.