Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] Re: Harsens Island MI border story<br/>
Date: Aug 05, 2003 @ 22:43<br/>
Author: Tom Sanders (Tom Sanders &lt;hilversum96@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-972753128">Seaway Island is natural. The border has always<br/>
followed the main shipping channel through the St.<br/>
Clair River and Lake St. Clair. I&#39;m sure lower water<br/>
levels on the Great Lakes have left part of the island<br/>
in both countries. <br/>
<br/>
One possible scenario is that the border follows an<br/>
old, smaller, channel that low water levels have<br/>
exposed. However, that would mean the small sliver of<br/>
land in the US was once a separate, named, island. And<br/>
it isn&#39;t. <br/>
<br/>
It&#39;s more likely that low water has simply made Seaway<br/>
island larger. The whole region is mostly marshes,<br/>
wetlands, and sandbars. It would be easy for a sandbar<br/>
under shallow water to become permanently exposed. As<br/>
the island grew across the border, the border remained<br/>
in place. And, since it&#39;s uninhabited, neither the US<br/>
nor Canada is concerned about the island straddling<br/>
the border. <br/>
<br/>
The border, all the way from Port Huron through the<br/>
St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, is carefully drawn<br/>
around even the smallest islands. So my guess is that<br/>
Seaway Island was once entirely in Canada, and nature<br/>
has permitted it to reach into the USA. <br/>
<br/>
If Harsen&#39;s Island ever did secede from the USA, I&#39;m<br/>
just wondering if Russell Island, to its north, would<br/>
go along with them. The lady who thinks Harsen&#39;s still<br/>
belongs to the Indians doesn&#39;t say if Russell Island<br/>
is part of the land never formally given to Great<br/>
Britain. There&#39;s a separate ferry from Algonac to<br/>
Russell - so, if that did happen, Russell would not be<br/>
reachable only through the Republic of Harsen&#39;s. <br/>
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