What is Leland Blue?
Leland Blue is actually a manmade type of beach glass created during the iron smelting process. While the blue variety is the most sought-after, it comes in a variety of purples, greens and grays. Because it’s created in high heat, it’s often pitted with air bubbles. Leland Blue is also a relatively soft “stone,” so you’ll rarely find very large pieces or pieces without cracks on the beach.
Where does it come from?
Leland Blue was created by the Leland Lake Superior Iron Company (sort of by accident) in the 1800s. During the smelting process, iron ore is heated to incredibly hot temperatures to remove impurities. What we now know as Leland Blue was formed from blue glass removed during that process. Other impurities in the iron ore melted together with the glass, creating the variety of colors you can find.
All that separated material, known as slag, was piled up on Leland Lake Superior Iron Company’s property. When they went bankrupt in 1885 after only 15 years as a company, that slag was dumped into Lake Michigan. While we’re glad that companies can’t dump waste into the Great Lakes anymore, it does mean there’s a limited amount of Leland Blue to be found.
Can you find it anywhere else?
Surprisingly, Leland Blue isn’t limited to Michigan. Most iron companies used to dump their waste in deeper bodies of water, but you can still find blue slag in Tennessee and as far away as Sweden. However, Michigan’s historic iron industry and access to the Great Lakes makes our state a blue slag hotspot.
Tips for finding them
Looking for the best spots to find Leland Blue? We’ve got you covered.
If you’re interested in slag glass that’s not quite as vibrant as Leland Blue, did you know you can find it using blacklights? Impurities in iron ore like sulfur have fluorescent qualities that make them easy to spot under UV light. Just like Yooperlites (or Glowdalites), shining a blacklight on the beaches of Leland can be a great way to find slag glass. In fact, the more dull the color during the day, the more colorful it will appear under UV light!
Is it only available on the beach?
Because Leland Blue is manmade, you can actually buy artificial versions at some Northern Michigan jewelers. Glassmakers can create blue slag glass without the imperfections in Leland Blue you’d find on the beach. Then again, those “flaws” are part of the history that makes it a Northern Michigan treasure.