Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is America's
first National Lakeshore, established by the 89th Congress of the
United States on October 15, 1966. There are opportunities for many
recreational activities thanks to the development of trails,
campgrounds and roads in and around the Lakeshore’s boundaries.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has two gateways – Grand Marais
at the eastern edge and Munising at the west. Sleeping Bear Dunes,
The Apostle Islands and Indiana Dunes are the three other national
lakeshores that were authorized in subsequent years.
Permission for this Earthcache was granted by the
Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore Park Service because of
Earthcache’s Leave No Trace principles, and the fact there is no
placement of any physical cache container. Having a cache container
placed anywhere within any National Park Service boundaries is
strictly prohibited. Grand Sable Dune - A Perched Dun, Miners
Castle Sea Cave, Miners Castle, Miners Falls and Pictured Rocks
View Earth Cache are the other earthcaches currently available at
the Lakeshore.
Geological history recorded in the sedimentary
rocks and surficial deposits of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
is limited to two widely separated intervals of geologic time, the
Late Precambrian, Cambrian, and Early Ordovician Periods (500-800
million years before present) and the Late Quaternary Period (two
million years before present to the present).
During the Cambrian and Early Ordovician periods,
sediments were deposited in the shallow seas and near-shore deltas
that covered what is now northern Michigan. These deposits became
the sandstone units that are exposed within the Lakeshore. Except
for their exposure near Lake Superior, these units are presently
covered by a veneer of Quaternary glacial drift.
Bedrock is best observed in the western one-third
of the Lakeshore where cliffs rise up to 180 feet from Lake
Superior. These extend along the lake about 17 miles from Munising
to Beaver Basin. For a short distance inland from the escarpment,
bedrock is occasionally exposed.
Ice sheets of all four North American glacial
stages advanced and retreated through the area during the
Pleistocene epoch. A brief re-advance of ice occurred 10,000 years
ago in northern Upper Michigan. Melting of glacial ice within the
Superior Basin produced huge rivers that deposited millions of tons
of pulverized rock rubble in various configurations to the south of
the Superior basin. A sheet of outwash, of varying thickness, was
deposited along the south edge of Pictured Rocks National
Lakeshore. Meltwater carved several channels into Cambrian
sandstone bedrock.
Rivers flowing within the Pictured Rocks National
Lakeshore have created seven named waterfalls plus several unnamed
falls. From west to east, they are Munising, Bridalveil, Miners,
Mosquito, Chapel, Spray, and Sable Falls. The sandstone outcrops of
the Pictured Rocks escarpment create the many waterfalls in the
area.
A waterfall is usually a geological formation
resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over
an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in
elevation. This break is sometimes known as a nickpoint. Typically,
a river flows over a large step in the rocks which may have been
formed by a fault line. Over a period of years, the edges of this
shelf will gradually break away and the waterfall will steadily
retreat upstream, creating a gorge of recession. Waterfalls can
occur along the edge of glacial trough, whereby a stream or river
flowing into a glacier continues to flow into a valley after the
glacier has receded or melted.
Munising Falls
The coordinates will take you to parking lot of The
Munising Falls Interpretive Center. Munising
Falls is located within the city limits of Munising where
Washington Street becomes Sand Point Road. The Munising Falls
Interpretive Center is at the beginning of the trail to Munising
Falls. A quarter-mile walk along a paved path following the
Munising Creek leads you to the bas of the waterfall. Two sets of
stairs will give different views of the 50 foot waterfall as the
water cascades over a sandstone cliff. Watch for ferns,
wildflowers, and wildlife including an occasional mink.
The trail is fully accessible to the central falls
viewing platform. Please stay on the paved trail. Pets are
permitted on the trail to Munising Falls. Please read and follow
all regulations in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and at
Munising Falls.
There are two logging requirements for the Munising
Falls Earthcache.
First, post with your log your picture from the
viewing area at the end of the trail with your gps in hand and
falls in the background.
Second, email me the elevation levels of each of
the viewing areas from lowest to highest. Be sure to let me know
what elevation corresponds to which platform – left, center or
right as you approach from the trail.
Did You Know?
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is home to three
arctic disjuncts, plants whose normal range is far to the north.
Arctic crowberry, Pitcher's thistle, and thimbleberry thrive
because of the cool and moist microclimates caused by Lake
Superior.