An Underwater Quartz Vein in the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
Driving up thru the Keweenaw Peninsula is one great adventure. Even better if you get off the main road (M-41) and take the back roads, side roads, and dirt roads. Many, many old mining towns, ghost towns, deserted houses and buildings, hidden cemeteries, gorgeous coastline, etc. await you on your journey.
Something you may have considered as you drove up the Keweenaw is to scour the shoreline of Lake Superior for precious rocks, fossils, puddingstones, beach glass, and pretty stones.....but something you may not have thought about is looking for a vein of quartz. Well, there is one in plain sight and it's a beauty.
Between Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor is Esrey Park. At this park is an impressive vein of quartz that runs from Lake Superior up through the beach rocks, continuing underground. You'll see this quartz vein in the gallery below.
The Keweenaw is home to a number of minerals that doesn't just include quartz – there's also calcite, copper, silver.....and sometimes traces of gold. Unfortunately for seekers and collectors, many of these have disappeared thanks to road construction companies scooping up tons and tons of these rocks to build and repair roads. Thankfully, there are still remote places where you can find these...and this particular quartz vein is a pretty cool find.
The gallery below not only shows the vein as it heads toward the lake, but also photos of the vein underwater. The landscape beneath the water in this area is very alien-like, as you will see!
Quartz Vein in the Keweenaw Peninsula
MORE MICHIGANIA:
Michigan's First Mine: Jackson Mine, Negaunee
The Caves & Rock Formations of Mackinac Island
Polished Rocks From The Great Lakes