The Emmet County Water Quest Geo-trail will take participants to both famous and obscure places in Emmet County to learn about locations and people that made the county famous.
This cache is part of the Emmet County Water Quest Geo-Trail. When discovering the “wet” historic places in Emmet County each cache will provide a specific answer to a question on the passport. Information and the passport can be downloaded from the Emmet County web site
http://www.emmetcounty.org/geocache/
Once 25 of the caches in this tour have been completed, the passport can be taken to Emmet County Building, Suite 178 or mailed to Beth Eckerle, Emmet County Building, Suite 178, 200 Division St., Petoskey, MI 49770 to receive a collectable souvenir coin for this series.
Known in Anishnaabemowin as “Chi-sin,” the Big Rock has been used as a visual aid-to-navigation since 1615. Through the centuries, it has been used as a gauge to determine the rise and fall of water levels in Lake Michigan. Michel de Lotbiniere described the rock in a letter sent back to France in 1749 as being at times, high and dry, and at other times, completely submerged. He concluded that the water in the Straits of Mackinac rose and fell by as much as 8 feet.
This large rock is approximately 33.8 feet in horizontal circumference and 37 feet in vertical circumference. It is about 9 feet tall. An estimate weight puts it around 54 tons.