View source for Bete Grise

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'''Bete Grise''' (from the [[French language|French]] ''Bête grise'', "Gray Beast") is a [[nature preserve]] on [[Keweenaw Peninsula]], in the [[Upper Peninsula]] of [[Michigan]], [[beach]] and [[bay]] on [[Lake Superior]]. It is located in [[Grant Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan|Grant Township]] south of the community of [[Bete Grise, Michigan|Bete Grise]]. Local legend holds that the sand of the beach "sings".
==Local legend==
Local legend says that the musical "voice" that emanates from the sand is that of a Native American maid who lost her lover to the Great Lakes and still calls to him from the shore with the aid of visitors who "play" the sand.  The sand can be made to "sing" by pressing down with the palm of the hand or "bark" when struck. The sand supposedly loses its musical properties when removed from the beach.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/michigan-urban-legends-tell-around-campfire|title=Michigan Urban Legends to Tell Around the Campfire|last=|first=|date=|website=Pure Michigan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701030900/http://www.michigan.org:80/article/trip-idea/michigan-urban-legends-tell-around-campfire |archive-date=2017-07-01 |access-date=March 12, 2020}}</ref>
It is said that the beach was named due to sightings of a strange gray creature that roamed the area. Another local legend is that when the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] burned off the blueberry bogs next to Bete Gris after the harvest, the smoke rolling across the bay looked like a gray beast.
==Geography and location==
Bete Grise beach is located off US 41, near the inland lake [[Lac La Belle (Michigan)|Lac La Belle]], on the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]] of the northern [[Upper Peninsula]] of Michigan.
The Northern half of the beach is easily accessible by paved road. The Southern half of the beach, Bete Grise South, is most easily reached by boat and is part of a designated wildlife refuge. The Beach is bisected by the dredged Mendota boat channel. The historic [[Bete Grise Light|Mendota Light House]] is restored in private hands on Bete Gris South.
The [[Bete Grise Light]] is located in the area.
Bete Grise Bay is also a designated "Harbor of Refuge" on [[Lake Superior]] by the [[US Coast Guard]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
*"[[Weird Michigan]]" by [[Linda S. Godfrey]], Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (2006)  {{ISBN|1-4027-3907-9}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4027-3907-1}}.
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* Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau.(2009).[https://web.archive.org/web/20080924152708/http://www.keweenaw.info/details_793_betegrisepreserve.aspx Bete Grise Preserve].
* Manarolla, M.(2005). [http://www.keweenawnow.com/news/bete_grise_ceremony_05_07/bete_grise_ceremony_05_07.htm Ceremony marks Bete Grise preservation]. KeweenawNOW.
==External links==
*[http://www.betegrisepreserve.org/Stewards_of_Bete_Grise_Preserve/Home.html Bete Grise Preserve home page]
[[Category:Beaches of Michigan]]
[[Category:Landforms of Keweenaw County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Bays of Michigan]]
[[Category:Bays of Lake Superior]]
{{KeweenawCountyMI-geo-stub}}