Keweenaw Peninsula

The Keweenaw Peninsula (/ˈkiːwᵻnɔː/ KEE-wi-naw, sometimes locally /ˈkiːvənɔː/) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200. Its major industries are now logging and tourism, as well as jobs related to Michigan Technological University and Finlandia University.

Natural

The ancient lava flows of the Keweenaw Peninsula were produced during the Mesoproterozoic Era as a part of the Midcontinent Rift. This volcanic activity produced the only strata on Earth where large-scale economically recoverable 97 percent pure native copper is found.

Much of the native copper found in the Keweenaw comes in either the form of cavity fillings on lava flow surfaces which has a lacy consistency, or as "float" copper, which is found as a solid mass. Copper ore may occur within conglomerate or breccia as void or interclast fillings. The conglomerate layers occur as interbedded units within the volcanic pile.

Keweenaw Rocket Range

The Keweenaw Rocket Range was an isolated launch pad located in U.S. state of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. It was used between 1964 and 1971 for launching rockets for meteorological data collection.NASA, along with the University of Michigan, conducted the project under the lead of Dr. Harold Allen. The site was one of six similar sites scattered about North America used to collect measurements of electron density, positive ion composition and distribution, energetic electron precipitation, solar X-rays, and Lyman alpha flux.

One of the other well-known sites was Wallops Island, Virginia. The collected data was later to be compared to the five other sites.

Smaller rockets

In the early stages of the project, smaller rockets were launched off a floating buoy between the on-land rocket site and Manitou Island, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) off shore. These smaller rockets were commonly known as Mighty Mouse rockets for they were only a few feet tall and had folding fins. There were approximately 50 of these rockets launched from the floating buoy.

Keweenaw (disambiguation)

Keweenaw can refer to the Keweenaw Peninsula, or its derivatives: