Death's Door is the chief navigational passage between the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It lies between the northeast end of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula and the rocky shores of Pilot, Plum, Detroit, and Washington islands. It is about 6 miles wide. Death's Door, named "Porte de Morts" by French explorers for the treacherous currents and unpredictable wave action that claimed war canoes and schooners alike.