Editing Alpena County, Michigan (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|1695|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|572|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1123|sqmi}} (66%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_26.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 18, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113024015/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_26.txt|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

Alpena County is in the northeast of the mitten-shaped [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan]]. [[Lake Huron]] and [[Thunder Bay (Michigan)|Thunder Bay]] are to the east, [[Alcona County, Michigan|Alcona County]] to the south, [[Oscoda County, Michigan|Oscoda County]] to the southwest, [[Montmorency County, Michigan|Montmorency County]] to the west, and [[Presque Isle County, Michigan|Presque Isle County]] to the north. Most of the county is drained by the [[Thunder Bay River]] and its tributaries. The [[Mackinaw State Forest]] occupies large tracts of land in the county. The [[Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary]] is offshore adjacent to the county.

The [[45th parallel north|45th parallel]] bisects the county, meaning it is halfway between the [[North Pole]] and the [[equator]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Museum/45th/NAmer.html|title=45th Parallel North America|work=wurlington-bros.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/236626|title=Google Groups|work=keyhole.com|access-date=December 18, 2007|archive-date=July 8, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708202849/http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/236626|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several islands in Thunder Bay are part of the [[Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge]]. There are automated [[lighthouses]] on [[Middle Island (Lake Huron)|Middle Island]] and [[Thunder Bay Island]].

===Geographic features===
* [[Thunder Bay River]]
* [[Long Lake (Alpena County, Michigan)|Long Lake]]
* [[Grand Lake (Presque Isle, Michigan)|Grand Lake]]
Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is so-called Grayling outwash plain, consisting of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forests. Large lakes were created by glacial action.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/rlandscp/s7-2-2.htm |title=NPWRC :: Regional Landscape |work=usgs.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625181556/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/rlandscp/s7-2-2.htm |archive-date=June 25, 2013 }}</ref> Some of the inland lakes are truly massive.<ref>[http://www.watershedcouncil.org/Michigan_InlandLakes_Top20.pdf Top 20 Michigan inland lakes.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410053552/http://www.watershedcouncil.org/Michigan_InlandLakes_Top20.pdf |date=April 10, 2008 }}</ref>

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Alcona County, Michigan|Alcona County]] - south
* [[Oscoda County, Michigan|Oscoda County]] - southwest
* [[Montmorency County, Michigan|Montmorency County]] - west
* [[Presque Isle County, Michigan|Presque Isle County]] - north

===Major highways===
* {{jct|state=MI|US|23}} serves [[Alpena, Michigan|Alpena]] on its way along the Lake Huron shoreline. To the north, it passes past [[Long Lake (Alpena County, Michigan)|Long Lake]] and [[Grand Lake (Presque Isle, Michigan)|Grand Lake]], thence to [[Rogers City, Michigan]], through [[Cheboygan, Michigan]], and on to [[Mackinaw City, Michigan]], where it ends and connects to [[Interstate 75 in Michigan|I-75]] and the [[Mackinac Bridge]].
* {{jct|state=MI|M|32}} ends its {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} easterly cross-peninsular route from [[Lake Michigan]] to [[Lake Huron]] within downtown [[Alpena, Michigan|Alpena]] at an intersection with US 23.
* {{jct|state=MI|M|65}} is a more direct route to the south than US&nbsp;23, which meanders along the lake shore through many villages and towns. M-65 goes north to [[Rogers City, Michigan|Rogers City]].

===National protected area===
* [[Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)