Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore hugs the south shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It's known for the dramatic multicolored Pictured Rocks cliffs. Unusual sandstone formations like Miners Castle and Chapel Rock define the park’s headlands.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

The whole of Sand Point is made up of sand deposited by the currents of Lake Superior as the water moves through Munising Bay. Over hundreds of years, the sand deposits were colonized by different vegetation such as beach grasses, pine trees, and blueberry bushes. The shoreline continues to change today as new sand accumulates in places and existing beach erodes away. The process doesn’t stop in winter as Lake ice pushes and carves the frozen shoreline.  The photos collected from this station show how the sand bars and beaches of the area shift over time, as well as how the levels of Lake Superior fluctuate from year to year.  

Sand Point Beach Station

The Marsh Trail provides easy access to a beautiful north country wetland full of interwoven ponds, cattail marshes, forested swamps, and small tree-covered ridges. This postage stamp of land and water is home to an incredible array of plants and animals, from sedges and wild roses to mallards and painted turtles. Water trickles from the nearby cliffs to feed the wetland, where it eventually filters into Lake Superior. A wave of floral colors sweeps across the marsh in spring, and in fall the changing leaves paint the hillside above. The photos from this site help to monitor long-term changes in water level and vegetation makeup, while the collected images showcase the seasonal changes taking place in this wetland ecosystem.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Michigan

2 chronologs managed by Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Sand Point Beach Station

The Marsh Trail

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