 |
Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore |
 |
|||||
This page has had 1962755 visitors so far. |
|||||||
Lake Superior Facts
Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake - a huge, rock-bound lake that is capable of piling ice high against the shore, and producing ocean sized currents and waves. Waves as large as 31 feet have been recorded, and Lake Superior is the grave of more than 325 ships. Lying between the 47th and 49th parallels of latitude, it stretches 380 miles east to west and 160 miles across at its widest. The big lake has 2900 miles of shoreline, 31820 square miles of surface area, an average depth of 489 feet and a maximum sounding depth of 1333 feet. Water clarity is incredible, with visibility recorded to as much as 65 to 75 feet. Average water temperature is 40º F and it can effect a difference in air temperature as much as 20º F as far as 20 miles from its shores.Lake Superior Geology 
Lake Superior is located in a downward fold, or trough, of Precambrian rock. The basin resulted from a combination of geologic events. The gradual processes that formed the Lake Superior basin began during the Late Precambrian Period some 1150 million years ago when the earth's crust split apart, with great floods of molten rock spewing forth on the surface as lava flows or cooling off and hardening below. This activity continued for some 20 million years. As the flows congealed into new earth crust, the bedrock beneath gradually sank, tilting the overlying mass eastward. The depression continued to sink even after the volcanic period, developing into an impressive basin. Wind and water erosion over the next millions of years laid down a thick layer of mud, sand, and gravel until the basin was a broad low plain. About a million years ago, the great glaciers of the Ice Age began their slow work of carving the coast. Four successive waves of mile-thick ice gouged out the basin, exposing the intricate and varied volcanic formations of the basin rim while depositing the sediments hundreds of miles to the southeast. During glacial retreat, meltwaters filled this basin far above present levels. The Lake Superior of that time (about 12,000 years ago) is called Glacial Lake Duluth by geologists. As outlets to the south and east opened, the lake level subsided. Eventually the lake reached its present surface elevation of 602 feet above sea level.
Virtually all of the bedrock of the North Shore consists of Upper Precambrian volcanic rocks poured out from a giant rift about 1.1 billion years ago, as the continent started to tear itself apart. A few intrusive rocks exist, such as the massive jointed sill at Silver Cliff, and irregular intrusive bodies such as the diabase at Silver Bay and Beaver Bay. These diabase bodies host very large inclusions, such as the white one that Split Rock Light House is built uponThe Attraction of the North Shore Area 
The Minnesota portion of the North Shore of Lake Superior is an avenue of varied beauty. Along its length you will see vertical rocky cliffs, lower rock outcroppings, and rocky beaches full of treasures like the Lake Superior Agate and Thomsonite. 22 Minnesota streams tumble their way into Superior making a trip up the shore a waterfall lover's paradise. In the fall, you'll see maples in full red autumn regalia, contrasted against the yellows of the birches and the deep forest greens of the pines. In the winter you will find a virtual fairyland of ice formations along Superior's shoreline. In the spring, the ice begins to move - an awesome thing to see if you are there at the right time.
This is some of the most beautiful scenery you will see anywhere in the world, folks. Every little bit of the shoreline offers hidden nooks and bays that will entice adventurers of all levels. The river valleys are especially impressive. Minnesota State Parks abound along the North Shore Highway - eight of them last time I counted. Starting with the "granddaddy" - Gooseberry Falls, and moving up the shore to Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche and George Crosby Manitou,  Temperance River, Cascade River, Judge C.R. Magney, and finally Grand Portage where you'll also find the Grand Portage National Monument. The Superior National Forest, Finland State Forest, Pat Bayle State Forest, and Grand Portage State Forest also dot the North Shore area providing additional places to camp, fish, hunt, hike, bike, snowmobile, ski, or simply drive through and enjoy. |
Lake Superior North Shore Images Go directly to my Lake Superior Images Directory |
|||||||
The Ice Train
Image: ICETRAIN.JPG 25833 Bytes 400x294 |
Grand Marais Overlook
Image: OVERLOOK.JPG 21323 Bytes 400x284 |
Flowers in the Rocks
Image: ROCKFLWR.JPG 31383 Bytes 400x309 |
Superior Sunrise
Image: SUPROCK.JPG 58865 Bytes 400x302 |
||||
Superior Lava Flows
Image: SUPSHORE.JPG 29322 Bytes 400x303 |
Superior Wave
Image: SUPWAVE.JPG 32299 Bytes 400x296 |
Swollen Stream
Image: FLOOD.JPG 19824 Bytes 400x290 |
Split Rock Lighthouse
Image: SPL400.JPG 22824 Bytes 400x300 |
||||
Superior Ice Castles
Image: SUPICE.JPG 30006 Bytes 307x400 |
Superior Sunset
Image: SUPSUN.JPG 25988 Bytes 291x400 |
Additional Lake Superior Images Here |
|||||
Explore the Superior National Forest
| Links to Other Lake Superior Sites |
 LakeSuperiorPhoto.com ... Upper Peninsula photos from a couple of "yoopers" Isle Royale National Park ... National Park Service's Isle Royale Page Grand Portage National Monument ... Historic Fort at the Tip of the Arrowhead Superior Hiking Trail ... Hike the Shore of Lake Superior in NE MN North Shore Nordic Ski Trail and Lodges ... Cross Country Skiing on the North Shore Lights of Lake Superior ... Lighthouses on Lake Superior from Bill's Lighthouse Getaway Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks ... From the MN Historical Society Duluth Shipping News ... Arrivals/Departures, Photos, News & More Great Lakes Shipping ... "dedicated to the vessels that ply the waters of the great inland sea" Lake Superior Challenge ... Test Your Knowledge of Lake Superior Lake-Superior-Explorer.Com ... Guide to Fun, Services & Products from Northwoods of MN, WI and Michigan's UP East Lake County Chamber of Commerce ... "Minnesota's North Shore & Beyond!!" Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore Directory ... "The Ultimate Guide to Lake Superiors Rugged North Shore" NorthShoreGuide.com ... "The Most Complete Visitor's Guide to the North Shore of Lake Superior" Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior Visitor Guide ... 'Nuther Guide to the North Shore Nirivian Island Expeditions ... Explore the Nirivian Islands Lake Superior Excursions ... Cruise the Big Lake from Beaver Bay on the Grandpa Woo Lake Superior Yachting Association ... Yachting Clubs of Lake Superior |
Are You "In" To Photography?
Find it on eBay
Print it at PhotoWorks
| About This Page |
| Graphics on this page were hand crafted from scratch and from other graphics by Martha Decker on a Dell 8300 using Corel Photo Paint and Paint Shop Pro. The page itself was created using Hot Dog Pro 7.03 for Windows. If you are interested in using any of my graphics, please send an email to the autoresponder Graphics@deckernet.com for permission. This page was developed on a computer running at 1280x1024 resolution at 65K colors. If you are running at a different resolution or color depth, things might not look as intended. I HIGHLY recommend that you run at least 65K colors. The Web will look dramatically different to you - I guarantee it! |
| The background tile on this page was derived from a tile I found on the Corel Photo Paint Plus 5 CD. If you have ever visited Lake Superior's North Shore, you'll understand the significance of the rocky background. Most of the shoreline looks just like it! Instead of a "traditional" sandy beach, the North Shore beaches are rocky (and fun places to find agates, by the way.) |
| Click here to view the background tile or click here to view the JPEG version of it. |
| The Lake Superior divider line image on this page was adapted from two different GIFs that I found at http://www.great-lakes.net. |
| The CGI counter on this page is an adaptation of the Text Counter that uses Server Side Includes which can be found at Matt's Script Archive. |
| Note: It is NOT an acceptable practice to load images onto your own Web pages or load images into a Web Chat environment directly from someone else's server. Many people on the Web are charged for file transfer from their site if they go over their alotted amount. I was one of those people and really got burned (try a $500 bill, guys...) |
You are welcome to use any of my images on your own Web page or in a Web Chat environment as long as you do the following:
The main Woodshed page ... http://deckernet.com/shed/ The main deckernet page ... http://deckernet.com/ For Christmas graphics ... http://deckernet.com/shed/xmas.htm For Minnesota graphics ... http://deckernet.com/minn/ Thank you! :) |
| The information on this page about Lake Superior was obtained, quoted, and paraphrased from the following two books: "Minnesota's Geology" Richard W. Ojakangas and Charles Matsch University of Minnesota Press 1982/2001 "Minnesota Underfoot" Constance Jefferson Sansome Voyageur Press 1983/1987 "The Edge of the Arrowhead" Rick Lydecker Minnesota Marine Advisory Services/University of Minnesota 1976 Click HERE to order other Lake Superior Books |
 |
| The MINNESOTA Page Index | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
[top]
Search This Site
 |
| Home to The Woodshed |
|
Links Checked by Linkbot
1/4/06
Fight Back... REPORT UNSOLICITED EMAIL!
| Email addresses and other personal information listed on these pages may NOT be gathered or used in any way for commercial or adult bulk "Spam" emailing lists! |
Portions Copyright © 2006 Martha Decker
Last modified on Sunday, January 08, 2006