In the frigid cold of this morning, I am carried away and warmed in thought of Munising in September. On our end of summer trip we spent our days on Michigan's upper peninsula, kayaking and combing the beaches for interesting rocks. In addition to the many agates we were able to find, we also found many "exotic" treasures that stoked my curiosity to learn more about where they'd come from.
As with my fascination with most things, this journey too would be an uncovering and discovery centered around the importance of PLACE.
The U.P (as the colonial inhabitants coin it) has a rich history, most attributed due its location off the shores of what the Ojibwa natives called the Gitchee Gumee or Great SEA. This is what we today know as The Great Lake Superior.
We all learned about this lake but I imagine many who don't live or vacation off of it realize it's sheer magnitude and magic!
Lake Superior is the size of South Carolina and has a current recorded depth of 1,333 feet across its 31,700 square miles. As the 3rd largest lake in the world, you could put 12 inches of the water contained in it across ALL the land masses of North & South America. It's waves reach the heights of those in the ocean and to date there have been over 6000 ships consumed in its deep waters.
Very early on this area of Michigan was alurring and mysterious. It could have been because of its rich deposits of magnetic metal ores or vast copper deposits from its rich geological past that created a paradise feeling. Of course good things don't stay buried long. Heavy mining began. At one point of its colonization, the area had close to forty blast furnace in work to process the vast riches of the land into steel and the necessities of industry.
This industry is the father of our "exotic" beach find. A by product called, SLAG. It has become beloved to those who know as Leland Blue.
In order to get the most pure metals, the process of smelting was needed. During this process the mined rocks were heat to over 2000 degrees. With the addition of other elements like carbon and limestone, the sought after minerals would be carried away from the remaining rock minerals which were impurities in this case.
It seems that this waste product was just dumped back into the lakes. Without digging deep into what other interesting anomalies may have occurred at the hands of industrial irresponsibility, I sit in this moment content to have learned the story of a beautiful gift brought to me from the shore of the great Gitchee Gumee.
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| Notice the glassy or vitreous nature of this specimen. |
The U.P (as the colonial inhabitants coin it) has a rich history, most attributed due its location off the shores of what the Ojibwa natives called the Gitchee Gumee or Great SEA. This is what we today know as The Great Lake Superior.
We all learned about this lake but I imagine many who don't live or vacation off of it realize it's sheer magnitude and magic!
Lake Superior is the size of South Carolina and has a current recorded depth of 1,333 feet across its 31,700 square miles. As the 3rd largest lake in the world, you could put 12 inches of the water contained in it across ALL the land masses of North & South America. It's waves reach the heights of those in the ocean and to date there have been over 6000 ships consumed in its deep waters.Very early on this area of Michigan was alurring and mysterious. It could have been because of its rich deposits of magnetic metal ores or vast copper deposits from its rich geological past that created a paradise feeling. Of course good things don't stay buried long. Heavy mining began. At one point of its colonization, the area had close to forty blast furnace in work to process the vast riches of the land into steel and the necessities of industry.
This industry is the father of our "exotic" beach find. A by product called, SLAG. It has become beloved to those who know as Leland Blue.
In order to get the most pure metals, the process of smelting was needed. During this process the mined rocks were heat to over 2000 degrees. With the addition of other elements like carbon and limestone, the sought after minerals would be carried away from the remaining rock minerals which were impurities in this case.
It seems that this waste product was just dumped back into the lakes. Without digging deep into what other interesting anomalies may have occurred at the hands of industrial irresponsibility, I sit in this moment content to have learned the story of a beautiful gift brought to me from the shore of the great Gitchee Gumee.
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