Up North rocky beauties pack history

#RockSolidHistory from #MackinacIsland and its wonderous #ArchRock.

This circle that peers into Lake Superior is created from breccia. Breccia is a limestone bedrock that is very easily eroded, but also cemented back with calcium carbonate over time, creating a jagged and rough appearance but a much stronger rock.

The formation of Arch Rock was carved out after the last Ice Age by melting glaciers and their strong waves.

Nearby, there was also a breccia formation called Fairy Arch, it had been obscured by vegetation until Dr. John R. Bailey found it in 1866. It looked like a portal into the lake. It became a tourist destination for 80 years, but then was destroyed in a stabilization effort in the 1940s.

Arch Rock and Fairy Rock are just a few of famous (or formerly famous) rock formations on Mackinac Island State Park. Today there is also Robinson’s Folly, Friendship’s Altar, and Gibraltar Craig.
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#Breccia #mackinacisle #UPMichigane #UpperPenninsula #Michiganislandlife #MichiganLakeLife #MichiaganUP #MichiganUpperPenninsula #UPNorth #ArchRock #FairyRock #AftertheIceAge #MichiganGeology #MackinacGeology #LimestoneWonder