"To say that Lake Superior is the greatest of the Great Lakes is to say much, but it draws no picture of the vastness of this haughty queen of fresh water who has a copper crown, the iron hills for a footstool, and the coldest blue eyes in creation… Facts and figures are poor measures of true greatness, which goes beyond reason and must be judged by impressions."

W. Ratigan, Pretty Tall Water Here, in Shipwrecks and Survivals (1969)

"Quiet or wild, vast, and ancient, the crown jewel of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior, dazzles all who touch its shores or explore its depths. Majestic eagles, elusive wolves, fragrant forests, and mighty winds that carry sailboats great distances all contribute to the characterization of the lake as "pristine"."

Chris Grundler, GLNPO, in Horizons newsletter from the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Autumn 1993

"When it was calm, and the sun shone bright, I could sit in my canoe, where the depth was upwards of six fathoms, and plainly see huge piles of stone at the bottom, of different shapes, some of which appeared as if they were hewn. The water at this time was as pure and transparent as air; and my canoe seemed as if it hung suspended in that element. It was impossible to look attentively thorough this limpid medium at the rocks below without finding. Before many minutes were elapsed, your head swims, and your eye is no longer able to behold the dazzling scene."

Jonathon Carver, 18th century explorer, from B. Littlejohn and W. Drew, Superior: The Haunted Shore

“Straddling two countries, with a crown of iron and a foot of copper, Lake Superior merits her title as queen of the inland seas. She is loved and feared, admired and respected. Sometimes she’s serene and peaceful, at other times turbulent and tempestuous. Her wooded shores, the pristine streams that feed her, and the rugged cliffs that pay homage to her are dwarfed by Queen Superior herself, greatest of the Great Lakes.”

Craig Charles, Exploring Superior Country, 1992

"Those who have never seen Superior get an inadequate, even inaccurate idea, by hearing of it spoken of as a "lake," and to those who have sailed over its vast extent the word sounds positively ludicrous. Though its waters are fresh and crystal, Superior is a sea. It breeds storms and rains and fogs, like the sea. It is cold in mid-summer as the Atlantic. It is wild, masterful, and dread as the Black Sea."

George Grant, from B. Littlejohn and W. Drew, Superior: The Haunted Shore

There is a quiet horror about the Great Lakes which grows as one revisits them.
Fresh water has no right or call to dip over the horizon, pulling down and pushing
up hulls of big steamers, no right to tread the slow, deep sea dance-step between
wrinkled cliffs; nor to roar in on weed and sand beaches between vast headlands
that run out for leagues into bays and sea fog. Lake Superior is all the same stuff
towns pay taxes for (fresh water), but it engulfs and wrecks and drives ashore like a
fully accredited ocean--a hideous thing to find in the heart of a continent

--Rudyard Kipling

"The gross national product includes air pollution and advertising for
cigarettes, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts
special locks for our doors, and jails for the people who break them. The
gross national product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the
death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles
with nuclear warheads.

And if the gross national product includes all this, there is much that it
does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the
quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to
the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does
not include the beauty of our poetry, the intelligence of our public debate
or the integrity of our public officials.

The gross national product measures neither our wit nor our courage,
neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion
to country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life
worthwhile."

-Robert Kennedy (1925-1968)

"If, as the elders have told us, we are our grandparents' dream, then we must today begin dreaming of our grandchildren."

- Walt Bressette

“We must always remember that water is always more precious than gold."

- Walt Bressette

North Shore Vision: “People working together to nurture and protect the North Shore’s communities and economy, its wild lands and solitude, its recreational opportunities and the quality of Lake Superior for present and future generations.”

"If there is a God,' I hope he gives me credit for looking after one of his most magnificent creations.''

- Alden Lind