Editing Copper Island (section)

== Geography ==
The area was "isolated" by dredging in 1859 and construction in the 1860s of a ship canal across an [[isthmus]] of the Keweenaw Peninsula from Portage Lake—on the east side of the Keweenaw Peninsula—to Lake Superior on the west. The ship canal is {{convert|100|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|21|ft|m}} deep.  The resulting "island" was called ''Kuparisaari'' (meaning "Copper Island") by [[Finland|Finnish]],<ref>{{cite web |url = http://ethnicity.lib.mtu.edu/groups_Finns.html |publisher =[[Michigan Technological University]] |location=Houghton |title = Kupperisian 'Copper Island' |access-date = September 24, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070308124318/http://ethnicity.lib.mtu.edu/groups_Finns.html |archive-date = March 8, 2007 |url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Irish people|Irish]],<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=153515 |author = New York University |title = From the Emerald Isle to the Copper Isle }}</ref> and [[French people|French]]/[[French Canadian]]<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url = http://habitant.org/houghton/fcgenealogy.htm |last = DuLong |first = John P. |title =French-Canadian Genealogical Research in Houghton County, Michigan: Tracing French Canadians in Michigan's Copper Country |work=Michigan's Habitant Heritage, the quarterly journal |publisher=French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan |year=1989–1990}}</ref> settlers in the area.  However, neither the [[United States Geological Survey]] nor the state of Michigan identify this area as an island or use this name.  [[Isle Royale]] is the largest naturally isolated island in Lake Superior; considered as an island, Copper Island would be the largest, with an area of around {{cvt|560|mi2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/blog/post/is-michigans-largest-island-hiding-in-the-keweenaw-peninsula/ |title=Is Michigan's Largest Island Hiding in the Keweenaw Peninsula? |first1=Brad |last1=Barnett |date=July 28, 2022 |access-date=August 8, 2024}}</ref> It has a population around 21,500.