This earth cache takes you to a scenic overlook off of US-41.
Here you will have view of the two halves of the Keweenaw
Peninsula. At this location is a monument and another sign that
shows a map of the waterway with spots marked that shows some of
the regions history and places, companies, and mining operations
that influenced the region and even the state greatly.
The Keweenaw peninsula was formed when the last glacier covered
a large portion of North America including Michigan. The last
glacier that covered a good part of North America was approximately
10,000 – 100,000 years ago. This glacier is known as the Wisconsin
Glacier. The Wisconsin Glacier reached north from the St. Lawrence
watershed, west into the Mississippi watershed, east to New
England, but stopped short of the Ohio River to the south. The
advancing ice was channeled into the lowlands now occupied by The
Great Lakes, Green Bay, and the Fox River.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern most part of Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula. It along with Isle Royal were formed by
Midcontinent Rift System. The peninsula projects out into Lake
Superior. The world’s oldest and largest lava flow is located right
here on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The volcanic activity produced the
only strata on Earth where large scale economically recoverable 97
percent pure native copper has been found. The Keweenaw Peninsula
is home to the first major copper boom in the United States. Copper
from the Keweenaw has been found in Indian artifacts as far south
as Alabama and also has made headlines recently with new artifact
finds far south of the Peninsula.
The Keweenaw Waterway separates the cities of Houghton and
Hancock. Early on the northern portion of the Keweenaw Peninsula
could only be accessible by boat. In 1875 a bridge was constructed
to connect the two cities together as well as make the rest of the
peninsula accessible. The waterway is 21 miles long and Portage
Lake accounts for 14 of those 21 miles. This waterway was
originally a small river and used for transportation and fishing by
early natives and later on used to transport goods and materials.
The major portion of the water is completely natural with the only
man-made segments being a short length at the mouth of the Portage
River and the 2-mile canal. The River was improved in the late
1850s and the canal completed in 1873 at a cost of 2.5 millions
dollars. After the waterway was extended in the 1850s ships could
enter the canal from either side of the Keweenaw Peninsula and
transport the region’s vast quantities of copper without having to
go around the entire peninsula thus shortening the shipping route
by 100 miles. It also allowed ships to weather Lake Superior’s
fierce storms like the one that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.
Today’ the waterway is primarily used by small watercraft for
recreation and large ships seeking refuge from storms on Lake
Superior.
This waterway was very important to the regions development and
especially for the extraction and transportation of raw copper for
further processing. Without this waterway carved by glaciers and
later dredged – billions of pounds of copper and other minerals
would have been much more difficult and expensive to mine and
transport across Lake Superior to their next destination.
To Log this Earth Cache:
1. Please post a photo with you and/or your team with faces clearly
showing at this location with the mountains behind you.
2. On the monument at the posted coordinates lists several visitors
who first used the waterway. Several towns in Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula are named after these individuals. List three of these
people.
3. Take a elevation reading at the posted coordinates and then as
close to the waterway as possible. Compare this to the elevation of
Lake Superior (you will have to do some research). How do they
compare? Based on the comparison of the two readings – why do you
think this makes the Keweenaw Waterway so much more important to
the transportation of goods?
4. Using my profile – please email the answers to #2, #3, and #4.
Do not post them with your log! Your photo must be posted at the
time of your log. Once logged you must complete requirements 1-3
within 48 hours.
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keweenaw_Peninsula
www.mindat.org/article.php/255/Geology+of+the+Keweenaw+Peninsula,+Michigan
www.exploringthenorth.com/houghton/main.html
www.answers.com/topic/midcontinent-rift-system