An all-purpose field guide covering the North Woods of the upper Midwest, beginning with a detailed geological history of the region, then moving to a description of the nine typical plant communities and details of the region's abundant wildlife, before becoming a guide to public lands for the recreationist and vacationer.

In Lake Effects, writer Erika Alin explores both the natural and the human landscapes of Lake Superior, meditating on the rich geological, historical, and cultural events that have shaped the region. She begins her journey around Superior at the St. Louis River near Duluth and continues along the shores of the lake to Temperance River State Park, Grand Marais's Artist's Point, and Lake Superior Provincial Park. Following the Michigan and Wisconsin coasts, Alin visits the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Porcupine Mountains, and Chequamegon Bay before concluding at the south shore's Brule River. Inspired by these and other places on the lake, Alin's essays delve into such diverse topics as the origins of river names, early Native American settlement, the exploits of seventeenth-century French-Canadian voyageurs, the breeding habits of ring-billed gulls, the contributions of women botanists, Canada's Group of Seven painters, and aboriginal rock art.