Tahquamenon Falls EarthCache
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Located in Tahquamenon Falls State Park. There is a fee to enter. Short walk on a paved trail. Coords will take you to a lookout. There is a trail down to the falls, but be warned, there are a lot of steps. Tahquamenon Falls is open year round. (You do Not need to go down.)
A gorge is a deep crevasse cut into rock. Gorges are created when a glacier melts away, not just melts away but melts away in that area very quickly. As the last sheet of ice receded the melted waters joined what we know now as the Tahquamenon River. With the quick melting of the area the river cut through the bedrock here. The bedrock throughout the Upper Peninsula was created millions of years ago. This happened first by volcano eruptions and then by sediment that was left when this area was under water. The meltaway of the glaciers in this area of the state took place about 8,000 years ago. The Tahquamenon Falls would have been carved out by the remains of the Lake Michigan lobe of the glacier that once rested here.
The Tahquamenon rises from springs north of McMillan and drains an area of more than 820 square miles. From its source, it meanders 94 miles before emptying into Whitefish Bay. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet (15 m) and is more than 200 feet (60 m) across. A maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second has been recorded cascading over its precipice.
Surrounded in old growth forest, this special place was rich in Ojibwa Indian culture, fur trading and later played a major part in the days of Lumberjacks. The River was used in the logging industry to transport logs to the sawmills.
Long before the white man set eyes on the river, the abundance of fish in its waters and animals along its shores attracted the Chippewa Indians, who camped, farmed, fished and trapped along its banks. In the late 1800's came the lumber barons. They removed 16,000 cubic yards of sandstone and a small waterfall from the river bed. This was done to make the river more suitable for navigation. They also deepened the river to drain the 30 square miles of swapland. The river carried their logs by the millions to the mills. The lumberjacks who harvested the tall timber were among the first permanent settlers in the area.
The Tahquamenon river was made famous in the Longfellow poem Hiawatha, "by the rushing Tahquamenaw" Hiawatha built his canoe.
Tahquamenon Falls State Park has more than just the Upper Falls to offer to visitors. A pair of moose wander the park land and can sometimes be spotted by visitors, as can the bald eagles which make their home here. Black bear, coyotes, otter, deer, fox, porcupine, beaver and mink are a few of the other wildlife to be seen in the park. The abundant bird life includes Spruce Grouse, Sharptail Grouse, Pileated Woodpeckers and a variety of waterfowl and songbirds. The area is one of the few nesting sites in Michigan for the Sandhill Crane. There are also 25 miles of hiking trails wandering through the 40,000 acres of wilderness. There is also a 4 mile paved path heading from the Upper Falls to the Lower Falls, or you can drive.
To log this cache you must email (DarrylW4@MotorCityCacheMachine.com) or message (through the Geocaching.com Message Center) the answers to 2 questions. Any log without an email of the answers will be deleted.
- Visually divide the falls into 4 equal parts and tell me what color the water is in detail at each section, and what makes it like that. The color will change from season to season.
- Describe the bedrock at the falls.
- Head down river and take a picture of you (or part of you) with the wall of the gorge in the back. Do not show the falls as to not give away the color at that season.
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