Shoe Island is a small island or islet in the Beaver Island

Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and part of the Beaver Island archipelago. Once home to a unique American monarchy, the island is now a popular tourist and vacation destination....

 archipelago in Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

. It is about 3 acre (1.2 ha) in size and located in eastern St. James Township

St. James Township, Michigan

St. James Township is a civil township of Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 307.-History:...

, Charlevoix County, Michigan

Charlevoix County, Michigan

-Airports:*Beaver Island is served by two airlines:**Welke Airport**Beaver Island Airport-Ferry service:*Beaver Island Boat Company maintains a regular auto ferry from Charlevoix:*The Ironton Ferry at Ironton, Michigan crosses the south arm of Lake Charlevoix...

. It became 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,...

 in 1943, and was designated as part of the Michigan Islands Wilderness Area

Michigan Islands Wilderness Area

Michigan Islands Wilderness Area, a relatively small wilderness area of 12.5 acres , consists of Pismire Island, Scarecrow Island, and Shoe Island within the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. These three islands, which constitute part of the group of islands that make up the larger...

 in 1970.

Like several other components of the Michigan Islands NWR, Shoe Island was formed during the Wisconsin glaciation

Wisconsin glaciation

The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....

. Geologically, it is a heap of boulders and gravel left behind by a retreating glacier. Islets of this type form good nesting places for freshwater seabirds.