Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, a Pictorial Journey

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been blessed with a wealth of natural beauty and geologic jewels, with the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore combining both of these elements. Colorful sandstone cliffs, ranging from 15 to 60 meters high, offer spectacular scenery along a 24 km stretch of the Lake Superior shoreline. Sights include natural archways, waterfalls, sea caves, blowholes, turrets, and stone spires sculpted by the unceasing erosion of waves and weather.

The name Pictured Rocks comes from streaks of stunning color that decorate the cliffs. These colors result from ground water leaching minerals within the rocks, then precipitating and staining the cliff faces as the water flows out and down. The variety of colors include red and orange (iron), blue and green (copper), black to white (manganese), and yellow-brown (limonite).

The cliffs were formed by the stacking of 3 different sandstone formations (800-500 million years old) that are covered by a veneer of Quaternary glacial drift. Structurally, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore lies along the northern edge of the Michigan Basin, with the sedimentary bedding dipping gently to the south, but the strata also rise gradually eastward in the vicinity of the lake.

At the base of the sandstone sequence is the Late Precambrian, Jacobsville Formation, which is a fluvial/lacustrine, feldspar-rich quartz sandstone, deep red in color with white mottling. Above that is the Cambrian, light grey to white Munising Formation, which represents a complex shoreline/shallow water environment that was influenced by fluvial, wave, tidal, and aeolian processes. The Munising is divided into three members: a basal conglomerate, the hard Chapel Rock sandstone (characterized by large, sweeping cross beds), and the crumbly Miners Castle sandstone. The easily eroded Miners Castle Member is covered by the resistant Ordovician Au Train Formation. The Au Train Formation is a light brown to white dolomitic sandstone that that acts as a cap for the cliffs. The arches and cave structures are formed by powerful wave action on the softer sandstone that underlies the harder cap rock. Rockfalls typically occur along the cliffs in the spring and fall due to freezing-thawing action.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore contains a wide range of forested ecosystems, including upland northern hardwood forests dominated by maple, beech, and yellow birch, and wetter lowlands of spruce and tamarack. Pine and aspen grow on drier sandy outwash plains. Hemlock groves are found in moist, sheltered pockets alongside streams and lakes.

Though animal life is abundant, visitors usually do not see many animals beyond chipmunks and birds. Wildlife in this varied landscape of wetland, sand dune, rocky shore, and northern forest includes white-tailed deer, black bear, gray wolves, and an occasional moose. Migratory and nesting songbirds share the park with bald eagle, osprey, and several species of hawks and falcons. Fisher, mink, American marten, beaver, skunk, red squirrel, and numerous small rodents such as shrews and mice inhabit lake shore habitats. Butterflies, dragonflies, and other insects abound during the summer. Many species of fish, as well as aquatic organisms such as freshwater mussels and tiny crustaceans, live in the park's lakes and streams.

This article is an expansion of a post from over a year ago that received limited views. It is also a test of the LinkedIn algorithm. There is an obvious trend whereby articles are systematically devalued while posts and videos are provided wider distribution. This is my attempt to ascertain if long-form writing is worth pursuing on this platform.