Department of Biological Sciences - Michigan Tech and the Surrounding Area

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Michigan Tech and the Surrounding Area -
	In the second half of the 1800s, the Keweenaw (KEY-wa-naw) Peninsula became the site of the nation's first copper mining boom. As the world's largest producer of copper, it was a logical location to educate and train mining engineers.
	Michigan Technological University was founded in 1885 as the Michigan School of Mines. More than one hundred years later, Michigan Tech is still on the leading edge of technology as one of four nationally recognized research universities in Michigan.
Michigan Tech campus view from Mont Ripley area	The campus stretches for one mile between Portage Lake and U.S. Highway 41, a fifteen-minute walk to downtown Houghton. Houghton and Hancock, twin cities with a combined population of about 12,000, are located in the heart of Upper Michigan's scenic and historic Keweenaw Peninsula. The area has daily bus and airline service.
The department is housed in the Dow Building, shown here with Ranger III, the National Park Service boat that travels to Isle Royale	Prevailing westerly winds are warmed and moistened by Lake Superior, giving the area an average mean winter temperature of above 20 degrees above zero (the thermometer rarely drops below zero) and an average mean summer temperature in the 70s (the pollen count seldom rises above 2 percent). Those same winds also bring an average 250 inches of snow each winter.
View of Lake Superior shore	Lake Superior is just a few miles from campus. The surrounding area is perfect for virtually all types of seasonal outdoor activities: hiking, hunting, backpacking, fishing, boating, swimming, snowshoeing, and downhill and cross- country skiing. The Keweenaw boasts seventy-five kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails. Many students take advantage of the six downhill ski areas located within a two-hour drive from campus. The University owns and operates Mont Ripley ski area and the eighteen-hole Portage Lake Golf Course.