and the lower lake michigan shore from manitowoc down to the illinois border.and in each case, i tell the deep story of how the shore area was formed and follow that with a travel guide. and the story. lake michigan dates back to the beginning. the cambrian period, 545 million years ago, and for the next 250 million years, a series shallow seas invaded the central part of ancient america. and this diagram shows a very rough outline of such a sea in blue here. it also shows the outlines of today's north american continent. although that ancient continent looked different, it was shaped differently. it's been changing shape ever since. this, interestingly enough, this brown area here is the ancestral appalachian mountain range, which was a huge island in that in that sea. and then here's the the the the michigan basin lake michigan is is located this red line running through the image here is the equator. so that means that was a tropical sea and shallow sea life. there was sea life was evolving in that sea. and we're better for sea life to thrive than a coral re