Overlooked Falls in Porcupine Mountains State Park

fallen tree [Overlooked Falls 2478 2481], photo by Frank Kaelin (aka Fir Dawg)

GoWaterfalling’s page on Minor Waterfalls has this to say about Overlooked Falls in Porcupine Mountains State Park:

Overlooked Falls is a small falls on the Little Carp River. The scenic falls consists of two drops, each about 5′ in height. This is the most easily accessed of the falls on the Little Carp River, big or small. It is only a few hundred feet from the parking area. The trailhead to the falls is at the end of Little Carp River road. This is also the trailhead to Greenstone Falls, which is about 1/2 mile away. The trail also leads to the much larger Trappers Falls, which is three miles away.

Check this out bigger and see more in Frank’s Mainly Water slideshow.

Many (many) more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

Waterfall Wednesday: Sturgeon Falls in Ottawa National Forest

Sturgeon Falls, photo by Wenström

I can’t get enough of the great shots of snowmelt-fueled U.P. rivers. Go Waterfalling’s page on Sturgeon Falls says:

Sturgeon Falls is located in the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness in Ottawa National Forest. The Sturgeon River has carved out a deep, forested gorge, that is 300 feet deep in some places. The falls are located deep in the gorge. The drop is only 30 feet, but the river is very powerful. Above the falls the river is well over 100 feet wide. It then narrows into a chute only about 30 feet wide before shooting over the falls, spraying mist in all directions.

Read on for directions. The Sturgeon River is a Michigan Wild & Scenic river as well!

Check Sven’s photo out on black and see more in his UP Michigan Waterfalls slideshow.

Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

Rainbow Falls on the Black River

Ragin’ Rainbow Falls, photo by sgowtham

The GoWaterfalling page on Rainbow Falls explains:

This is the last of the main falls on the Black River before it enters Lake Superior. This is an interesting waterfall. Unfortunately the best views are from the east side of the river and the observation deck is on the west side of the river. The hike from the west side trailhead is 1/2 mile. In my opinion the smarter thing to do is to drive down to end of the Black River Scenic Byway, cross the river and hike back up to the falls. A supsension bridge takes you across the river and a mile long, scenic, and mostly level trail, takes you back to the falls. The views are far superior. In low water you can wade across the river above the falls.

The Black River Scenic Byway starts north of US 2 near Bessemer. There are signs on US 2. Rainbow Falls is about 16 miles north of US 2. The scenic area is on the right and is clearly marked. It is about a 1/2 mile walk from the parking area to the falls. There are a lot of stairs at the end.

The waterfall has carved out a large pothole. Most of the river falls into the pothole, but some of the water, depending on how high the river is, goes around or jumps clear over this hole.

Head over to GoWaterfalling for more pics and information about other falls in the area.

View Gowtham’s photo on black and see more in his Nature slideshow.

Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures!

Gorge Falls on the Black River Scenic Byway

gorge falls-black river, gogebic county, MI, photo by Northwoods Apparition

I’m always happy when someone shares a photo of a waterfall I’ve never seen. Michigan in Pictures has a ton of Michigan waterfall photos, so it’s not often that this happens! The GoWaterfalling.com entry for Gorge Falls explains:

Gorge Falls is named for the deep and narrow gorge above and below the falls. This was my personal favorite of Black River Scenic Byway waterfalls. It is also one of the easier waterfalls to visit, being only a short distance from the parking area. There are a fair number of stairs to the falls overlook. It is only a short walk upstream to see Potawatomi Falls.

I do not know how hard it would be to get to the east side of the gorge, or what the views are like.

The Black River Scenic Byway starts north of US 2 near Bessemer. There are signs on US 2. Gorge Falls is about 14.5 miles north of US 2. The scenic area is on the right and is clearly marked.

Click through for more and see a map of the Black River Scenic Byway.

Check Kirk’s photo out background bigtacular and see more great shots in his slideshow!

Bonanza Falls on the Big Iron River

“Bonanza Falls” – (Big Iron River) Silver City , Michigan, photo by Michigan Nut

The photo is of Bonanza Falls, about which Go Waterfalling says:

Bonanza Falls is a wide, low falls on the Big Iron River. The falls is at most 10 feet high, but in the spring the falls is 100 feet wide. In summer it is broken up into a number of segments. The bedrock here is tilted back against the flow of the river, creating many obstacles for the water to overcome.

Bonanza Falls is located about a mile south of Silver City along Route 64. This is a sign on west side of the highway visible as you head south for Bonanza Falls. A short gravel road leads to the river. The “Bonanza” refers to the mining boom times of the 1800′s.

Check this out on black, check out a long exposure and see many more in John’s Michigan Waterfalls slideshow.

Many more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures.

Bond Falls in black & white

Bond Falls, photo by wingsfan1705

Michigan in Pictures has a number of photos from Bond Falls, but there’s always room for one more. ;)

Check this out background bigtacular and see more including some detail shots in Kim’s slideshow.

More black & white photography on Michigan in Pictures.

MNA Memorial Falls aka Twin Falls

Memorial Falls in Winter (pano), photo by nasunto

GoWaterfalling’s page on Memorial Falls in Munising says:

MNA Memorial Falls is in Munising, off of H-58. Some of the locals refer to this waterfalls as “Twin Falls”. This is a very seasonal waterfall and is often dry. However when the water is flowing, which may only be after a good rain or when the snow is melting, you will be treated to a very pretty gorge with two waterfalls in it. MNA Memorial Falls is owned by the Michigan Nature Association and it is open to the public.

…Two streams empty into this gorge, but the second one likely only has water after or during a good rain. One very interesting feature of this gorge is a “window” in the walls between the two falls. You can crawl through this window, or just walk around it. You can see each of the waterfalls through this window.

Another nice thing about this waterfall is its proximity to Tannery Falls. The trail from Nestor streets forks just before it descends into the gorge. The trail to the right leads to the base of the falls. The trail to the left leads to H-58, about 100 feet away from the stairway to Tannery Falls, so you can visit both falls on the same hike.

In the winter both of these falls turn into ice columns that are tackled by the ice climbers. Despite their low volume of water, each of these falls manages to produce a very impressive column. Every winter Munising hosts an ice climbing festival. After the festival the ice columns look like they have been attacked by woodpeckers. There are many other interesting ice formations to see in the area.

Read on for more and definitely click through to see a pic of a person beside the 40′ fall and a shot of the “window”. Also see Memorial Falls at the Waterfall Record.

Check this out background big and see more in Nina’s Michigan Waterfalls slideshow. If you look carefully, you’ll see another photographer in the shadows!

There’s many more waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures including the above-mentioned Tannery Falls.

Know Your Michigan Waterfalls: Morgan Falls Edition

Calming Currents – Morgan Falls (Marquette, MI), photo by Aaron C. Jors

GoWaterfalling’s page on Morgan Falls explains that:

Morgan Creek tumbles 20 feet into the Carp River, creating this small wild waterfall. This is one of the more accessible of the Marquette waterfalls. The more impressive, but much hard to visit Carp River Falls are half a mile away.

Morgan Falls is located about two miles south of the city of Marquette. Of the many waterfalls in Marquette county this is one of the easier to visit, especially if you have four wheel drive. The waterfall is located at the confluence of Morgan Creek and the Carp River. The creek cascades down 20 feet to join up with the Carp.

…There is some disagreement about the name of this falls. According to some Morgan Falls is actually a cascade further upstream, and this is just an unnamed waterfall. This is the more distinctive and photogenic of the two features.

Read on for more information including directions.

You can view this photo on black. Aaron has several more great waterfall shots on Michigan in Pictures and even more in his Michigan waterfalls slideshow.

There are even more Michigan waterfalls on Michigan in Pictures too!

Two seconds at Tahquamenon Falls

upper tahquamenon falls, michigan, photo by twurdemann

A waterfall for your Wednesday morning.

Check this out on black and see more including another view of this scene in twurdemann’s Michigan slideshow.

Many more Michigan waterfalls and also quite a lot of Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures.

How Miners Falls got their name

Winter at Miners Falls, photo by gkretovic

The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore explains that Miners Falls is about five miles north of Alger County Road H-58 off Miners Castle Road. It’s a short hike of just over a mile round-trip from the parking area and Miners Castle.

I always wondered about the whole “miner” thing with Miners River/Falls/Castle.  The Miners Falls Trail Guide explains that:

Visited by passing English geologists in 1771-1772, the nearby Miners River was named by employees of Alexander Henry during one of his exploratory trips on Lake Superior. At that time, indicators or “leaders” were used to locate mineral deposits. Discolored water oozing from bedrock was one such leader found in the Miners Basin, although no minerals were ever extracted from this area.

Who was Alexander Henry you ask? Wikipedia explains:

Alexander Henry ‘The Elder’ (August 1739 – 4 April 1824) was one of the leading pioneers of the British-Canadian fur trade following the British Conquest of New France; a partner in the North West Company, and a founding member and vice-chairman of the Beaver Club. In 1763-64, he lived and hunted with Wawatam of the Ojibwa, who had adopted him as a brother. “Blessed with as many lives as a cat,” his time with the Ojibwa and subsequent explorations are retold in his Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the years 1760 and 1776 (published New York, 1809), which he dedicated to his friend Sir Joseph Banks. The book is considered an adventure classic and one of the best descriptions of Native Indian life at this time.

An “easy and dignified” raconteur, in 1776 Henry was invited to give an account of his journeys at the Royal Society in London and at Versailles to Queen Marie Antoinette. In the 1780s, Henry introduced John Jacob Astor into the Canadian fur trade and subsequently Astor would stay as Henry’s guest during his annual visits to Montreal.

You can read Henry’s Travels and Adventures in Canada online from Google Books. Also see the GoWaterfalling page on Miner’s Falls.

See it on black and see more in Greg’s great slideshow which includes a shot of a UP moose! From the Small World Files, Greg took this photo on November 27th. On the 28th, John McCormick was also there and also shared his shot on the Absolute Michigan group on Flickr!

More from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Michigan in Pictures.