Judge C. R. Magney State Park | |
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Location | Cook, Minnesota, United States |
Coordinates | 47°51′4″N90°3′30″W / 47.85111°N 90.05833°W |
Area | 4,643 acres (18.79 km2) |
Elevation | 1,073 ft (327 m) [1] |
Established | 1957 |
Named for | Clarence R. Magney |
Governing body | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
Judge C. R. Magney State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was named for Clarence R. Magney, a former mayor of Duluth and justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, who was instrumental in getting 11 state parks and scenic waysides established along the North Shore. [2] The park is best known for the Devil's Kettle, an unusual waterfall and rock formation in which half of the Brule River disappears into a pothole.[ citation needed ]
Judge C. R. Magney State Park is located on scenic Minnesota State Highway 61, 25 miles (40 km) from the Canada–United States border. [3] The last 8 miles (13 km) of the Brule River flow through the park, dropping 800 feet (240 m) and producing several waterfalls and cascades. [4]
A tributary of the Brule, Gauthier Creek, flows in from the west. Mons Creek, an intermittent stream on the park's northeast border, drains a small marsh. [4] This stretch of the Brule River has three named waterfalls. At 1 mile (1.6 km) from the lakeshore, Lower Falls drops 7 feet (2.1 m) over two steps just before the mouth of Gauthier Creek. [5] [6]
A short distance upstream are the Upper Falls, dropping 25 feet (7.6 m), and Devil's Kettle Falls. [5] From the Devil's Kettle to Upper Falls the river flows through a 1⁄4-mile (0.40 km; 400 m) rocky gorge, as does the last 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km; 800 m) of Gauthier Creek. [3] [7] : 56
Developed areas and trail access are confined to the lower third of the park. [7] : 54 The northern section is rugged and difficult to access, with open ridges stepping away from the river valley. [8] These extremes produce an elevation change of about 1,000 feet (300 m) within the park. The state park is entirely within Grand Portage State Forest, although most of the land directly adjacent to the park is privately owned inholdings. [9] The park has a continental climate of extreme seasonal variation, moderated by Lake Superior, which keeps the shore areas 6 to 8 °F (3.3 to 4.4 °C; 3.3 to 4.4 K) warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the inland part of the region. [4] Thus winters tend to be mild and snowy. [2]
The park is underlain by alternating layers of basalt and rhyolite, which were erupted from the Midcontinent Rift System 1.1 billion years ago when the middle of the North American Plate began to crack. These layers bear intrusions of gabbro and diabase in the north and ferrodiorite in the south near the lakeshore. [7] : 54 The rift itself formed a great basin, which gradually filled with sedimentary rock. The volcanic layers to either side became tilted; the basalt and rhyolite layers underneath the park dip about 12° and are estimated to be some 4,800 feet (1,500 m) thick altogether. [7] : 56
From 2 million years ago to 10,000 years ago a series of glacial periods repeatedly covered the region with ice, scouring the bedrock and scooping out the accumulated rock in the great basin. As the glaciers began to melt at the end of the last glacial period, pockets of rock and dirt till were left behind while the basin filled with meltwater, forming glacial Lake Duluth. A layer of red sediment with clay minerals remains from this time on flat, inland areas of the park. The changing configuration of the receding glaciers, plus post-glacial rebound of the surrounding land, altered the depth and area of the glacial Great Lakes. The succession of lake levels left a series of beach ridges, wave-cut bluffs, and terraces at several elevations. These land forms are visible all along Minnesota's North Shore, but Judge C. R. Magney State Park is the only park bearing the complete series from the high water of Glacial Lake Duluth to the level of Glacial Lake Nipissing just above the current Superior shore. [7] : 58 As the lake levels changed, so too did the rivers flowing into them. Several former stream beds and deltas can be identified at the southern end of the park. The campground sits on a delta, and a former stream bed lies directly opposite the park entrance. [10]
The park is best known for "The Devil's Kettle", an unusual waterfall located on the Brule River 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from its mouth. [4] The river splits in two to flow around a mass of rhyolite rock. The eastern flow goes over a two-step, 50-foot (15 m) waterfall and continues downstream. [2] The western flow surges into a pothole, falling at least 10 feet (3 m), from where it was popularly understood to "disappear underground". [11]
Visitors have reportedly dropped sticks, ping pong balls, and GPS trackers into the Devil's Kettle without seeing them resurface downstream. [12] According to legend, someone even pushed a car into the fissure, but given that the Devil's Kettle is wholly inaccessible by road, most commentators have dismissed this as hyperbole. [5] These stories have led to speculation that the channel had a separate outlet into Lake Superior, or more implausibly plunged deep underground or connected to another watershed entirely. [6] [8] [13]
For decades, no satisfactory geological explanation was offered for the Devil's Kettle phenomenon, and it was a popular regional mystery. [7] : 57 The underlying rock is not suitable for the formation of large underground passages, which are generally restricted to porous rock like limestone. Although lava tubes can form in certain igneous rock, they cannot appear in rhyolite, and the underlying basalt is both too deep and not formed in the proper volcanic conditions for tubes. The area is not known to contain any faults, and even if it did, it would not be permeable enough to drain half the river. [7] : 57
Experiments conducted in late fall 2016 and announced by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in February 2017 strongly indicated that the disappearing water simply flows back into the Brule River shortly below the falls. At the suggestion of state hydrologist Jeff Green, two DNR experts measured the water flow above the falls and several hundred feet (meters) below them. The two readings were virtually identical, suggesting no water was being lost to some other outlet. [14] They accounted for the failure of visitors' floating objects to reemerge by explaining that the powerful currents in the kettle's plunge pool would be enough to hold down most material until it was pulverized. [15]
Green and a colleague planned to conduct a dye tracing experiment in the fall of 2017 when water flows dropped again, with the hope of determining where the underground channel rejoins the main river. They were discouraged from doing so, however, by park management, and they decided (under duress) that the dye experiment was not scientifically necessary to confirm that the water simply rejoins the river below the falls. [16]
With an elevation change of 1,000 feet (300 m), Judge C. R. Magney State Park supports a wide variety of flora and fauna. [8] Overall, the park contains Laurentian Mixed Forest comprising both conifers and broadleafs. Before European settlement the Brule River Valley would have been forested mostly with white pine. Extensive logging and forest fires have altered the park's vegetation significantly, except around the rocky and inaccessible ridgetops. Today's secondary forest is dominated by aspen and birch, with stands of white spruce, sugar maple, and basswood. A few remnant stands of white pine have survived on hilltops and ravines, especially along Gauthier Creek. [4] Large northern white cedars are abundant along the river. [3] Inland are many dense stands of white spruce, the result of planting and vigorous natural reseeding after the timber harvests. [4] Around the waterfalls, the constant mist creates a microclimate conducive to several plant species not found elsewhere in the park. [17]
The large mammals found in the park, particularly in the remote northern section, are white-tailed deer, moose, black bears, red foxes, and timber wolves. Smaller mammals include groundhogs, red squirrels, eastern chipmunks, martens, and snowshoe hares. [8] [18] Broad-winged hawks, barred owls, and great horned owls are prevalent, while many other raptor species pass through the park during their migration. Several species of warblers nest in the park. [4] The Brule River and its tributary Gauthier Creek have spawning runs of rainbow trout in spring and salmon in the fall. [19]
White-tailed deer are not endemic to northern Minnesota, having expanded into the region to take advantage of the plant regrowth during the logging period. In the 1940s and 1950s, as many as 300 deer per square mile were observed. The population has dropped as the forest has matured, but the deer still pose a management challenge as they overgraze young trees of certain species, over time altering the composition of the forest. [4] The park has fenced deer exclosures around reseeded white pines. [3]
The Ojibwe called the river Wiskode-zibi (Half-burned Wood River), which was translated directly into French as Bois Brulé and shortened by English speakers to "Brule River". The name likely refers to an early forest fire, and fires played a significant role in the park's early history. A series of fires in northern Wisconsin in 1892 to 1894 forced lumber companies to abandon that area and cross Lake Superior to begin logging the North Shore even though the quality of the timber was lower. The Red Cliff Lumber Company was headquartered a few miles west of the Brule River, and much of the future park was logged at this time. However logging practices of the day foreshortened the harvest of North Shore timber too, as slash left on the ground for several dry years fueled a devastating fire in 1908. Droughts and fires bedeviled the North Shore for the next 30 years. In 1928 the General Logging Company began harvesting second-growth wood in the Brule and Cascade River valleys for a pulp mill in Grand Marais, but once again a devastating fire in 1931 burned 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) and brought the industry to a halt. [4]
The slowly regenerating Brule Valley very nearly became an exclusive resort for the wealthy, as entrepreneurs from Duluth formed the Naniboujou Club and planned a luxurious lakeside complex with a 150-room lodge, cabins, bathhouses, tennis courts, a golf course, and a swimming pool, all powered by a hydroelectric dam on the Brule. [20] With a membership of almost 600, the club purchased 3,300 acres (1,300 ha) along the shoreline and planned to buy another 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) inland. [21] The Naniboujou Club Lodge was completed in July 1929, but then the Wall Street Crash of 1929 struck that October, triggering the Great Depression. The rest of the complex was never built, and the lodge went through a succession of owners and periods of closure. [21]
Instead of wealthy families, the next residents of the future park were homeless men. In 1934 the state bought 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) from the Naniboujou Club and opened a "transient camp" on the Brule River to provide work and housing for men made homeless by the Depression. At first it was managed by the state's Division of Forestry and named the Grover Conzet Camp after their director, but at the end of 1936 it was transferred to the federal Works Progress Administration. [22] The camp consisted of fourteen barracks, two recreation halls, two bathhouses, a dining hall, and a bakery, as well as three workshops, an office, a garage, a warehouse, and a root cellar. [22] About 800 men rotated through the camp, conducting forestry projects such as planting trees and building fire roads. [23] They also developed a small public park and built the trail and stairs leading to the Devil's Kettle. [3] [7] : 55 The enrollees also farmed some of their own food and battled a 1936 forest fire that burned 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) north of Hovland. After the fire they built a sawmill and salvaged some of the downed wood. [4] In return the men received wages, medical services, clothing, running water, and access to reading material and a radio. Despite these benefits a visiting timber union leader managed to foment a rebellion in February 1938 in which the administrators were briefly ejected from camp before state and local officials restored order. [22] The WPA departed in July 1938 and the U.S. Indian Service converted the facility into a camp for Ojibwe youth. [22] The concrete foundations of several camp buildings are still visible in the park's campground and picnic area. [2]
In 1957, the Minnesota Legislature established Brule River State Park and appropriated US$5,000 (equivalent to $54,242in 2023) to purchase privately owned land within the 940-acre (380 ha) statutory boundaries. [2] [17] Clarence Magney, who had been instrumental in creating eleven state parks and waysides on the North Shore, died on May 14, 1962. The next year the park was renamed in his honor, and in 1965 Judge C. R. Magney State Park was expanded to 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) by adding the section upstream from the Devil's Kettle. [17] Development remained limited to a small campground, a picnic area, and the trail to the waterfalls. In 1987, a trail was added on the west bank of the river. [17]
Amenities are confined to the southern third of Judge C. R. Magney State Park. The summer-only campground has 27 sites and a sanitation building with flush toilets and showers. [18] The historic, privately owned Naniboujou Club Lodge provides hotel accommodations directly across from the park entrance. The park has 9 miles (14 km) of hiking trails. [18] The main hike is a strenuous 1.1-mile (1.8 km) walk to the Devil's Kettle and Upper and Lower Falls, featuring nearly 200 stairs. [5] This route is part of the Superior Hiking Trail, which swings through the park but dead-ended here until August 2003, when the northernmost 9 miles (14 km) were completed to the Canada–US border. [11]
The Brule River is popular for its angling opportunities, as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been stocking it with rainbow trout since 1930. [4] The river also contains introduced brook trout, chinook salmon, and pink salmon during their respective spawning seasons. Anglers occasionally catch smallmouth bass and northern pike that entered the river from lakes upstream. [4]
The Brule River also provides whitewater kayaking for experienced paddlers, who begin upstream of the park boundary and must portage around several stretches. [4] [24]
It is a pristine place for amateur astronomy related activities with binoculars and small telescopes, plus night photography of the milky way due to it being the only state park in Minnesota that has minimal levels of light pollution. [25]
The Devil's Kettle is featured in the crime novel The Big Law (1998) by Chuck Logan.
The horror film Jennifer's Body (2009) depicts a highly fictionalized version of the falls and a wholly fictitious town named after them.[ citation needed ]
Naniboujou Lodge and the Devil's Kettle Falls are featured in the mystery anthology Sew Far, So Good (2009) by Monica Ferris.[ citation needed ]
In two historical novels by acclaimed Minnesota author Peter Geye, The Lighthouse Road (2012) and Wintering (2016), this feature appears as The Devil's Maw, and is an important part of the plot.[ citation needed ]
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 169 mi (272 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower 125 mi (201 km) of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A hydroelectric plant at the Saint Croix Falls Dam supplies power to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Minnesota State Highway 61 is a 150.321-mile-long (241.918 km) highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from a junction with Interstate 35 (I-35) in Duluth at 26th Avenue East, and continues northeast to its northern terminus at the Canadian border near Grand Portage, connecting to Ontario Highway 61 at the Pigeon River Bridge. The route is a scenic highway, following the North Shore of Lake Superior, and is part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour designation that runs through Minnesota, Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is a state park of Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is best known for the picturesque Split Rock Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States. Built by the United States Lighthouse Service in 1910, the lighthouse and some adjacent buildings have been restored and the Minnesota Historical Society operates them as a museum. The 2,200-acre (890 ha) state park offers a unique cart-in campground and scenic trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, and bicycling.
Savanna Portage State Park is a state park in the U.S. State of Minnesota established in 1961 to preserve the historic Savanna Portage, a difficult 6-mile (9.7 km) trail connecting the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. The portage trail crosses a drainage divide separating the West Savanna River, which drains to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, from the East Savanna River, which flows in an opposite direction to the Saint Louis River, Lake Superior and the Great Lakes, and the Saint Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean.
The North Shore of Lake Superior runs from Duluth, Minnesota, United States, at the western end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, in the north, to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the east. The shore is characterized by alternating rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with forested hills and ridges through which scenic rivers and waterfalls descend as they flow to Lake Superior.
Tettegouche State Park is a Minnesota state park on the north shore of Lake Superior 58 miles (93 km) northeast of Duluth in Lake County on scenic Minnesota Highway 61. The park's name stems from the Tettegouche Club, an association of local businessmen which purchased the park in 1910 from the Alger-Smith Lumber Company. The club's members protected the area until its sale in 1971 to the deLaittres family. In 1979, the state of Minnesota acquired 3,400 acres (1,400 ha) from the Nature Conservancy, including Tettegouche Camp. The land was added to Baptism River State Park, which was renamed Tettegouche State Park.
Banning State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, United States, stretched along 10 miles (16 km) of the Kettle River near the town of Sandstone. The centerpiece of the park is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of churning rapids, some up to Class IV. The daring kayakers and canoeists who shoot Blueberry Slide, Mother's Delight, Dragon's Tooth, Little Banning, and Hell's Gate each spring attract spectators to the park. Landbound visitors can hike along the state's first Wild and Scenic River amid dramatic sandstone rock formations, large potholes carved by the river, and the remains of a historic quarry. Other features are Wolf Creek Falls and Robinson Ice Cave. The park is located directly off Interstate 35. Banning State Park is open daily from 8am until 10pm. Each vehicle entering the park requires an up-to-date permit which can be purchased online or at the park office.
Interstate Park comprises two adjacent state parks on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, both named Interstate State Park. They straddle the Dalles of the St. Croix River, a deep basalt gorge with glacial potholes and other rock formations. The Wisconsin park is 1,330 acres (538 ha) and the Minnesota park is 298 acres (121 ha). The towns of Taylors Falls, Minnesota and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin are adjacent to the park. Interstate Park is within the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. The western terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is on the Wisconsin side. On the Minnesota side, two areas contain National Park Service rustic style buildings and structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Grand Portage State Park is a state park at the northeastern tip of the U.S. state of Minnesota, on the Canada–United States border. It contains a 120-foot (37 m) waterfall, the tallest in the state, on the Pigeon River. The High Falls and other waterfalls and rapids upstream necessitated a historically important portage on a fur trade route between the Great Lakes and inland Canada. This 8.5-mile (13.7 km) path as well as the sites of historic forts at either end are preserved in nearby Grand Portage National Monument.
St. Croix State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, USA. The park follows the shore of the St. Croix River for 21 miles (34 km) and contains the last 7 miles (11 km) of the Kettle River. At 33,895 acres (13,717 ha) it is the largest Minnesota state park. It was developed as a Recreational Demonstration Area in the 1930s, and is one of the finest surviving properties of this type in the nation. 164 structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration survive, the largest collection of New Deal projects in Minnesota. As a historic district they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and proclaimed a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
The Sawtooth Mountains are a range of hills or small mountains on the North Shore of Lake Superior in the U.S. state of Minnesota, extending about 30 miles (48 km) from Carlton Peak near Tofte on the west, to Grand Marais on the east.
Hovland is an unincorporated community in Cook County, Minnesota, United States.
The Naniboujou Club Lodge is a resort and restaurant built as part of a private club on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Cook County, Minnesota, United States, about 15 miles (24 km) east of Grand Marais. It is named after Naniboujou, a character from the Cree, and the lodge's décor has both Native American and Art Deco influences. Commenced in the twilight of the Jazz Age, the club's grandiose plans succumbed to the economic realities of the Great Depression, and only the clubhouse was built. That building retains its original design and is listed as a historic property.
The Brule River is a river of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Brule River originates at Vista Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and flows 40.4 miles (65.0 km) east and southeast, terminating at Lake Superior approximately 14 mi (23 km) northeast of Grand Marais, Minnesota, within the boundaries of Judge C. R. Magney State Park. A major tributary is the South Brule River, which rises at the east end of Brule Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The Temperance River is a 39.2-mile-long (63.1 km) river in northern Minnesota. It drains into Lake Superior along its north shore just south of Tofte. It flows out of Brule Lake in Cook County generally south towards its mouth within Temperance River State Park. Its name is supposedly a pun on its lack of a sand bar.
The Grand Portage State Forest is a state forest located near the community of Hovland in Cook County, in extreme northeastern Minnesota. The forest encloses Judge C. R. Magney State Park, Swamp River Wildlife Management Area, Hovland Woods Scientific and Natural Area, and Spring Beauty Hardwoods Scientific and Natural Area. It borders the Grand Portage Indian Reservation to the east, the Superior National Forest to the west, and Ontario to the north. The forest is named after the Grand Portage, a historic trade route between the Great Lakes and the Northwest.
Brule Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. It is situated between two long sills in the Superior Upland, causing the lake to be eight times longer east and west than it is north and south. Out of the opposite ends flow the Temperance River and the South Brule, a tributary of the Brule River. Brule Lake was logged heavily in the early 1900s, and the region around it was consumed in 1929 by a logging-related forest fire which bears Brule Lake's name. Now the lake is part of the protected Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a federal wilderness area for which Brule Lake serves as an entrance point.
Gooseberry River is a 23-mile stream in Lake County, Minnesota, USA, draining into Lake Superior. It is known for its waterfalls, near its mouth in Gooseberry Falls State Park. The Gooseberry, like many of its neighboring streams, has an irregular discharge highly dependent on runoff from rain and snow melt. The region around the river was heavily forested and much logging took place during the early 20th century. The forest has since regrown and the falls and mouth of the river are now a thriving tourist destination.
Brule Glacial Spillway is a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-designated State Natural Area that encompasses the valley of the upper reaches of the Bois Brule River. This valley was carved by the outlet of Glacial Lake Duluth, which occupied what is now the western portion of Lake Superior, during the retreat of the Superior lobe of Wisconsin glaciation. This outlet flowed southwestward through the valley, to what is now the St. Croix River. As the glacier melted, and the level of Lake Superior dropped, the direction of flow shifted to its present northeastward course, towards Lake Superior. A high point in a vast bog near Solon Springs marks the Saint Lawrence River Divide between the watersheds of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. This divide was used for thousands of years, by Native Americans, European explorers, fur traders, and settlers as a portage between the two watersheds.
Minnesota Scenic Byways are a system of roads in the U.S. state of Minnesota which pass through areas of scenic, cultural, or recreational significance. There are currently 22 scenic byways in the system with a total length of 2,948 miles (4,744 km). Eight of these byways are also designated as National Scenic Byways, and the North Shore Scenic Drive is further designated as an All-American Road.