Rock Shelters at Laughing Whitefish Falls EarthCache
Rock Shelters at Laughing Whitefish Falls
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This is an Earthcache so there is no container to find, instead you will learn about rock shelters. This Earthcache is located at the Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park so you will need a Michigan State Park sticker. You can buy one by filling out a form and depositing the money and form in the pay pipe onsite.. PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAILS, DO NOT GO OVER THE RAILINGS TO EXPLORE THE ROCK SHELTERS.
Update: The questions have been updated since June 18 2020 Park at the parking lot and follow the gravel path. The hike is just under a mile each way. There are benches along the way if you need to rest. Be careful on the stairs, sometimes they can be slippery. The trail is pretty level with a few small hills. The hardest part is climbing the stairs but there are benches along the stairs. The view is spectacular from the bottom. The Laughing Whitefish Falls is formed by an abrupt limestone escarpment of the Laughing Whitefish River, which flows north into Lake Superior. The escarpment is shaped so as to draw out the cascade into an unusual fan shaped wall of water. Along the walls of the gorge you can find rock shelters. A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening. Rock shelters are also known as a rockhouse, crepuscular cave or abri. Rock shelters form because a rock stratum (layer) such as sandstone that is resistant to erosion and weathering has formed a cliff or bluff, while a softer stratum lies below and has been eroded or weathered away. Many rock shelters are found under waterfalls, but in this case they are also found on the walls of the gorge, possibly where the river used to flow. Rock shelters form natural shelters from the weather, so they can be important archaeologocally. Often prehistoric humans used them as living places and left behind tools and other artifacts. You can see three different rock shelters from the stairs. One is pretty small, located behind the falls. The most obvious one is in front of you at the posted coords. And the other, biggest one is off to the right as you look at the cliff. The Laughing Whitefish River flows into Lake Superior at Laughing Whitefish Point. The point is so named because the rocks at the tip of the point resemble a laughing fish when viewed from the water. Each geocacher logging this cache MUST send their answers separately within 14 days of logging or your log will be deleted. THE REQUIREMENTS TO LOG THIS CACHE ARE TO EMAIL ME THE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 1,2 AND 3 AT MY PROFILE: 1) At the posted coords, you can see a rock shelter. What are the initials at the back of the shelter? 2) How wide is the shelter? 3) How many stairs are there from the top to the bottom? PLEASE stay on the wooden steps. The rock shelters can be damaged and it could be dangerous to leave the steps. Go ahead and log this as a found and then email the answers to me at my profile. Do not put the answers in your log, it will be deleted. Feel free to post pictures of this beautiful waterfall with your log. A land use permit has been filed for placing this cache in a state park. Source: Wikipedia Congratulations VictoryMike on FTF!!
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