Mackinac Island is Unmoored and Drifting

Is Mackinac Island drifting and moving? Some ship captains seem to think so.

Do Islands Float?

The short answer to the question, do islands float, is no. I'm talking about islands like Hawaii, Drummond Island, etc. These islands like all major islands are attached to a landmass that is part of the Earth.

There is an exception to the rule because islands all over the world float called floating islands. They are usually made up of aquatic plants, mud, and peat. Floating islands are found in inland lakes, marshlands, and wetland locations as seen in the picture above. You can also see that some trees are growing as well.

Is Mackinac Island Drifting?

Several Ferry Captains who take people to and from Mackinac Island noticed they were not landing in the right spot to dock and thought something was wrong with their GPS. Sometimes a GPS unit will need to be celebrated to keep it accurate. Unfortunately, that wasn't the problem.

According to A Michigan Thing, in 1910, 4 moorings were installed on Mackinac Island to keep it from shifting 6 feet. The Army Corp of Engineers installed these moorings attached cables to them and hooked them to bedrock underwater. No cable is connected to the mooring in the photo above.

The anchor system is bolted into the bedrock with a cable that goes back to Mackinac Island and connects to the mooring.  No one noticed that the cable had been disconnected and the island had shifted 2 or 3 feet. The shift happened sometime back in the fall.

No worries if you plan on heading to Mackinac Island, it's not going to float away or break off the whole story was part of an April Fool's prank.

According to the Mackinac Island News and Views Facebook page, the missing cable from the mooring was a big prank but people had a lot of great comments. If you have time to burn and want a laugh it is all right here.