New book takes fresh look at the Great Lakes

Alex B. Hill is the principal of DETROITography, an organization that provides data resources for city residents.

"You know, I have Detroit maps in the back of my head. I've made so many of them. And the Great Lakes, I've lived here forever, but I hadn't ever really made a map of the region," Hill said.

As a cartographer and information designer, Hill focuses on Michigan locations, offering new perspectives for understanding these areas.

His new book, "Great Lakes in 50 Maps," explores our freshwater features and the surrounding land, highlighting how this relationship impacts how people live.

"As I was thinking about this book, I realized how much the Great Lakes are a part of all of us," Hill said. "We're 90 percent water. We are the Great Lakes; we just walk around!"

The book includes maps featuring indigenous names for the lakes, treaties, and land rights associated with the Great Lakes, historical Underground Railroad stops, and shipwrecks in the inland seas, among other topics.

Hill is also the author of "Detroit in 50 Maps."

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