This is a virtual field trip, an electronic expedition, reaching out over the Internet to view and explore a topic of interest to many participants. You may be at this site for your only "trip", or you may be using this site as a preview of what you will see on a real field trip.
This virtual fieldtrip brings you to the shores of Lake Michigan, to various beaches and coastline within the Greater Milwaukee area. As you can see on the map, we have chosen sites to study from Doctor's Park in the north to Grant Park in the south, and beaches in-between. There is no particular order to follow, so click on the area that interests you and learn about factors affecting shoreline erosion and deposition.
Any beach is a dynamic earth system where the combination of water level, atmospheric forces, and composition of the shoreline material interact to develop a stable topography. The final topography may not be to the liking of humans who are too frequently unwilling to live with the forces of the natural world. The Lake Michigan shoreline provides opportunities to view many forms of erosion and attempts to prevent erosion. Some locations have more problems than others. The activities associated with this field trop should help you better understand the earth processes that lead to erosion and see methods used to slow the erosion and mass wasting processes.
Choose a path: