Thunder Bay is a bay

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 on Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

. The bay extends from North Point at 45°01′19"N 83°15′58"W to South Point at 44°53′00"N 83°18′51"W.

The city of Alpena

Alpena, Michigan

Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census...

 lies at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River

Thunder Bay River

The Thunder Bay River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It drains much of Alpena County and Montmorency County, and a small portion of Oscoda County, into Thunder Bay on the eastern side of northern Michigan...

 at 45°03′48"N 83°25′41"W. The entire bay lies within Alpena County

Alpena County, Michigan

Alpena County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,598. The county seat is Alpena. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.It was founded originally in 1840 as Anomickee County...

, with Alpena Township

Alpena Township, Michigan

Alpena Township is a civil township of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 9,788.- Communities :* The City of Alpena is surrounded by the township, but is administratively autonomous...

 in the north and Sanborn Township

Sanborn Township, Michigan

Sanborn Township is a civil township of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,152 at the 2000 census.- Communities :* Ossineke is an unincorporated community in the township on Lake Huron at the mouth of the Devils River...

 in the south.

Several islands in the bay are protected as part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge

The Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for eight Michigan islands in the North American Great Lakes. Owned by the United States federal government, they were set aside for ecosystem protection purposes by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1943.Charity, Little Charity,...

. Thunder Bay Island

Thunder Bay Island

Thunder Bay Island is a island in Lake Huron. The island is one of eight constituent islands of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The island is part of Alpena Township in Alpena County...

 lies just east of North Point outside the bay. The wildlife in the Bay's waters are protected as part of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary on Thunder Bay, part of Lake Huron, within the U.S. state of Michigan. The sanctuary and underwater preserve protects an estimated 116 historically significant shipwrecks ranging from nineteenth...

.

The name is the English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 translation of the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 Anse du Tonnerre, which appears as early as the map of Franquelin

Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin

Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin was born at Saint-Michel de Villebernin, France in 1651. He died in France around 1712. He was a cartographer, a royal hydrographer, and a teacher of navigation. He was also the first official cartographer in Canada....

 in 1688. It was probably derived from the Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

name, as they believed that the Bay was peculiarly subject to thunder storms.

There are a substantial number of shipwrecks in and around Thunder Bay. Diving is an important activity.