Exploring Copper Mine Ruins in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2020
- Come with me as I explore the Cliff Mine in the Keweenaw Peninsula. A word of warning: I didn't know what the rocks were that I was looking at, and I didn't know the purpose of the stone walls and chimneys that I saw. I'm including a few links below that give some information about the minerals and history of this old mine.
cliffmine.wordpress.com/histo...
cliffmine.wordpress.com/about/
www.nailhed.com/2014/03/the-n...
www.mindat.org/loc-6849.html
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Gosh Rob, had I known you were there, I could have shown you around. Let's start with the stacks; those are for the boiler houses on-site to feed steam engines. They are not for a smelter as Cliff did not have one. The pink crumbly rock was laumontite. You had some prehnite, but threw it back. It looks like you had some candidates for greenstone, but couldn't get a good enough look. I'm also glad you read Wikipedia, which got their info from Mindat, which I wrote! ;-)
Well, shoot, where was the prehnite? Could you give me a time stamp?
I knew you liked Mindat, but I didn't know you wrote for the site. That's cool. I found a picture of malachite found there. It was almost microscopic, so I guess I won't be making any malachite pendants with it.
I'm still little confused about the stacks. There is no opening on the bottom that I could see. does the opening come in from the side underground? I read something when I got home that led me to believe that the stacks were to let air into the mine, but whatever I read was just a caption or something very short.
Another question: Do you know where the entrances to the mine are? I'm sure they're blocked off, but I couldn't find where they might have been.
@@MichiganRocks 2:02 looks like prehnite. It will have the same colour as on the lakeshore. You pretty much trip over the stuff there, unlike datolite which is rare at Cliff. You are correct in that the host rock is basalt; rhyolite would be much redder. All of the shafts and adits have been capped off.
I do write the site information for Mindat. I'm also on the management team for the site and am the Michigan expert.
@@captpaul8827 Would any of the rock walls have been parts of dwellings for the miners?
@@gwynnfarrell1856 I don't believe so, Gwynn. Those were all mostly along and near the railway and where cliff dr is currently.
@@captpaul8827 Thank you!
I’m a lifelong Upper and grew up in Atlantic Mine . As kids we played around the old mine ruins in our town. I miss hunting for copper. So many happy memories!
What a fun place to have grown up.
I have a picture of my dad’s family that was taken in Copper Harbor. My grandmother was pregnant with my dad at the time, and his older brother and sisters were standing next to grandmother and grandfather. Dad was born in 1904. The family arrived at Ellis Island, I think in 1888 and went to work in the copper mine. What a rough life. I look at the rock walls and chimney and wonder if my family placed many of those rocks.
Anyway, thanks for giving me a glimpse of the lifestyle my ancestors lived.
Yes, I can't imagine being a miner. I have an interest in rocks, but I wouldn't want to spend every day underground toiling away to extract them for low wages.
Born and raised yooper. We live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country in my opinion. Thanks for sharing.
I'm a troll, and I agree completely. I love the U.P.
Hi Alicia. ITS GODS COUNTRY. A fellow yooper.
The whole mine area just begs to be explored, so I don't think anyone can blame you for wandering about, lol! I found this adventure really interesting!
It would have made a better video if I was so clueless while wandering around. Oh well, maybe next summer.
I met an old dude from Findland one time, he kept bitchin about "I got to get back to copper country, der watch you coll". I had no freaking idea what the old dude was talking about. After he died in 2016 the barmaid told me he used to work at the Kennicott Copper mine. Hell we were in Adak Island AK. Kennicott would be over 1600 miles by sea. The old bastard used to get drunk and just kept saying "I got a get back to copper country, der watch you coll". The old boy was 102 when he died. Now I guess we all know what he meant. I wished the bar on Adak was still open so I could tell the other patrons.
I was chuckling to myself at how fast it went from rocks to ruins😊. It was fun exploring with you!
I was as surprised as anyone.
As you more than likely know, the world's most rare agate were/are found in the Keweenaw -- copper replacement agate is a life goal. Wolverine stacks 1 and 2 are where I understand they can still be found in tiny nodules that form on outer matrix of basalt (I believe) and they are usually the size of a thumb nail. To find a Keweenaw copper agate would be UNREAL! :)
I have definitely heard of and seen pictures of copper replacement agates. You’re right, that would be the find of a lifetime.
Wolverine 2 is a great pile for them, but they are not easy to find. There are a couple other piles that are good as well. I found a couple earlier this summer and feel fortunate.
Capt Paul I am beyond jealous!! Wow!!Congratulations that is the most epic find of all time, the absolute persistence and patience that must have required! So impressive!
Oh I love visiting Cliff Mine! I've found some neat copper chunks there.
One of the best places on the peninsula for copper chisel chips.
I love exploring ruins and old abandoned buildings. Its hard to explain to some people why. You either love it or hate it.
I love stuff that's this old. Being made out of stone really helps. I really, really like stone walls.
@@MichiganRocksyes , everything old !! I've been watching the indie projects channel raise their stine barn walls in prortugal. Its a insane amount of work but looks so great.
It's like being a child again.
I am so happy to have found your videos. Nature always provides the loveliest and most fascinating things.
I grew up in Laurium but live down state now. Just for info... there used to be a set of stairs that went from the top of the cliff to the bottom. It was still partially there in 1968. My grandfather worked for C&H mining as a carpenter. Helped build the steps. When I saw them last, years ago, they were haning in sections of the cliff wall. My fathers family mostly worked for C&H. My great uncle was a drill boy and died in an explosion when he was 14 at around the turn of the century. It must have been a very hard way of life back then. 😢
I can't imagine how tough life was back then. We're a bunch of wimps in comparison, I think. I didn't see any sign of steps, if I was even in the same area where they were.
So good to see things like that. Always good to get out of a "comfort zone" and try something different. Always learning stuff that way
Yep, I wish I would have studied up before making this video, but I'm also not afraid to admit when I don't know something. I'll admit that I didn't know much at all about the Cliff Mine.
@@MichiganRocks I do the same thing, ill go explore an old site, mine area, etc then back home i will look up more about it esp after i see the site and can see the pics and put things together.
Plenty of photography opportunities there, thanks for taking use with you, b safe 👍👍🏴
Yeah, it's a really pretty spot.
Stuck in Chicago, waiting for my delayed plane to come home. Enjoying the trip to the UP. Can’t wait to get home to order some cool merch! Thx for taking us along.
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help you pass your time in the airport.
This is so wonderful.
I live in Michigan and have never made the time to visit the copper mines.
It's all so fascinating to me.
Purest copper in the world.
Michigan Copper is found all over the world in ancient buildings, ships and jewelry.
The rock fences appear to be similar to cyclopean.
Very similar to Megalith type structures in Greece, Peru, Lebanon and many other places.
Michigan was home to many giants and a huge civilization before the last big cataclysm.
The copper mine is much much older than Wikipedia reports it to be.
All that is needed to confirm that is to look at copper found in ancient artifacts around the world.
There is so much hidden history in Michigan to explore.
So much evidence of past civilization still to be found.
I don't think this copper mine is older than what Wikipedia or the sign in front of it says. But copper has been mined in this area for thousands of years, so copper mining in general is much older.
If you've never been to the Keweenaw Peninsula or a bunch of other places in the U.P., I would encourage you to make the trip sometime. There are a lot of really pretty places to see.
Super enjoyed this, it's been a few years but we explored there about the same as you did; truly fun made me do more research about the mines. Thank you for sharing, we are enjoying your channel!
Thanks for watching. I'm glad you were not annoyed by my ignorance of what I was seeing.
Still a very interesting tour of the area that's a very interesting place it's unbelievable how much labor went into building all those rock walls and the chimney
I really like rock walls and I was really impressed with them too.
Thank you, so enjoyed the exploration of that mine area.
Those tailing hills looked huge.
There was quite a bit of waste rock there. Lots to look through.
When I make a trip to Michigan there are many sites I probably would not have given a second thought about going to, but you have definitely changed my mind about that. Enjoyed the walk.
I'm still discovering new places to go see. We have a lot of cool stuff in this state.
I agree on the enjoying ruins. So great that their still standing. Love it. Thanks for sharing,
The mortar has really crumbled on those stacks, so I hope they stay up without it.
Great views, and another reason I enjoy your videos. While rock hunting, you always take the time to pan slowly around and share the views.
It's difficult to remember to look around when I'm looking for rocks, but I remember once in a while.
I've spent a lot of time hunting copper in those tailings. Those are some beautiful stomping grounds! You really get around. The last video I watched you were hunting the Yellowstone with Katydid Rocks! That river is on my bucket list!
I don't usually go to Montana. The trip I took this spring was by far the biggest rock hunting trip I've ever taken.
My grandfather was a fireman on a train near you, worked for a Copper Mine, Quincey Hill I believe, died in 1937 in a train crash, rain night before n no one checked the track. He was only fatality. The old timers still remember.
That's interesting. I'm sure there were a lot of lives lost in mining accidents. It's dangerous work.
This isn't near where I live by the way, it's seven or eight hours from my house.
I can imagine seeing the miners pass through the same paths that you are walking on in the video. Thanks for the video!!
You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
What an awesome explore! It's so beautiful like all the UP!!
I just love the U.P. The bugs get a little out of hand sometimes, but that's my only complaint.
"Not knowing what you are doing" in a place like is just awesome! I can't wait to wander around there and check out those ruins and rocks.
I had a ball, but didn’t feel like I provided much knowledge to anyone watching.
Great adventure. Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks for coming!
I got to explore a very different sort of copper mine in Cuba New Mexico last Summer. I had no idea what I was doing but I did manage to get some great azurite blueberries, some thunder eggs, and some black and green Nacimiento petrified wood. Getting out of your rockhounding comfort zone can be fun!
That sounds like a fun place to visit!
What a great walk. I know a lot about copper mines in the SW but not where you are. Hitting the tailings is always fun. Wish I'd been there! TFS 💖🦅🦅
It was tons of fun.
WOW! Neat adventure Rob!..I really liked the tour you provided. Thank you.!
Glad you enjoyed it.
I bet there might be some old coins in that area. Great site for photography and video. Looked like a really great time. Thanks, Rob. Great video, again.
There might be old coins in the area, but a lot of people have metal detected this area looking for copper. It was a really cool place to visit.
Man the history there. To be able to walk amongst the ruins of long lost lives is such a treasure. It’s seriously so cool to be able to experience it man. Even just on our devices. Thank you for taking us along Rob. It’s beautiful!
Doing research in the field with a view like that! What better place man. You found copper! Getting out of your comfort zone is so good. I agree though, meMiner would have loved it!
I don’t mind walking around clueless by myself, but it’s a little embarrassing when I’m making a video. Rob, the clueless tour guide!
Michigan Rocks
Oh man, being clueless when you’re out rockhounding means you’re exploring. It’s the best kind of Rockhounding man. It’s humble too 😉
No need to be embarrassed in the slightest.
I loved the woods . They were so pretty and green. I also loved the old stone walls and chimneys too. very pretty!🥰😍😇💜
Those ruins were my favorite part.
@@MichiganRocks They were my favorite part too. 😍🥰😇💜
That area you were in was awesome. The history, the stone remnants of the past mining structures and the gorgeous views and forest :) Thanks for taking me along on your exploration :) I hope you and Capt.Paul meet up and do a video together of the area :)
That would be a lot of fun.
Well, you never know......
Thanks for taking us on your journey! It was like I was there walking with you. It's cool the see copper in raw form. I have to try that!
I have another video from this spot coming out Friday. I was with a couple of geologists who explained what a lot of the minerals there are.
@@MichiganRocks That's exciting, looking forward to that. Thanks for taking your time and effort into all of this. You have a great channel.
Hello Rob. Thanks for sharing!
I loved all the green rock..s look for the vain and color ...D
My wife and I took a trip to Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw in 2007. Beautiful drive in the fall, the trees form a canopy on the highway. Being tourists we took a guided tour inside one of the mines up that way (bats and all). Interesting tour of a bygone era.
I just love that whole area. Did you go up Brockway Mountain Drive? Stop at the Jam Pot?
theres like ten times more people now that covid struck : (
@@jenkemp I thought it was really crowded when I was there.
loved this! what an adventure for this 78 yr old granny! interesting how the copper looks in the raw! thanku! i had fun!
I’m glad you enjoyed this little adventure. That place is really fun to explore.
Watching now! I'm out of my element too lol. Great work 👍 .
That looks an amazing site to explore, I loved your walk through the forest, you just never know what you will come across. Maybe you could go again with a little more information. Thank you Rob.
I definitely did not do my homework before going. I thought I was just going to poke around in the tailings piles when I went and ended up stumbling on all these cool ruins.
I was there with my kids this summer. They loved metal detecting. Good copper finds
Did you find any larger pieces?
Sort of off-topic but if you’re rockhounding in the Keweenaw you have to visit the A E Seaman Mineral Museum on the MTU campus in Houghton. Unbelievable specimens of Michigan Rocks and others from all over the world.
I've been there a couple times and I agree completely. I went with my own family, my mom who has Alzheimers, and my sister. I thought someone would be bored in less than an hour, but the whole time someone was saying something like, "Whoa! Come look at this one!" Unbelievably cool rocks and minerals there.
That was just beautiful...thanks for sharing..
You're welcome, Pam.
Thanks Rob for the tour
You're welcome, Pati!
Wonderful hike through nature and history. The copper finding is nice too!
Better luck next time... :)
I was very happy with my visit to the mine, just disappointed that I wasn’t able to be very informative for the video.
@@MichiganRocks no worries... first try doesn't always work... :)
Really cool place, thx for bringing me along
Thanks for coming!
Even though those copper miners didn't make much, word is that they never got arthritis, and never got sick.
Huh, I never heard that.
Wow that is a very cool place! Love those rock walls!
I love rock walls in general and these are way cooler than most.
Hey there. I grew up in Michigan. My Grandfather worked at the Painesdale mine and my Great-Grandfather worked at Baltic #2. I found some very nice ore samples from the poor rock at Baltic #2 and Quincy (made a video of it last year).
The Keweenaw Peninsula is some beautiful country. Keep an eye out for the ultra-rare copper arrowhead.
I wasn’t aware that copper was made into arrowheads. I thought it would be too soft for that. I’ll check out your video.
Very cool! I was just up exploring the UP Labor Day. Did some metal detecting at a large mind dump, the old Central mine, I believe. Found some native copper and also some gypsum crystals. So many fun things to find in big rock piles!
That was the other mine I debated about going to. I was there once before a few years ago. Found some copper.
More than likely it was calcite, not gypsum, that you found.
Earlier this summer a large piece of silver and several smaller specimens were discovered at Central. I saw the big one and it was a beauty!
Very beautiful. So impressed-no litter👍
Yeah, I don’t remember seeing litter.
The industrial archeology group from Tech keep it very clean.
I consider the scenery worth your time even though you didn’t find a treasure trove of copper. What a beautiful site. I love seeing how nature reclaims her land when mankind walks away. But seeing things like the smoke stacks, and that marvelous wall, sets my imagination free. How did the miners work and live on this site? What was it like when the mine was producing more copper than any other mine at that time? What was it like when production ended? What must it have felt like to call it a day and walk away? Fascinating stuff. Thank you.
I put a couple links that I found about the history of the mine in the description of this video.
Very interesting like to watch about Michigan rocks.
It's very interesting. At least I can see without huffing and puffing. Ty
I had to rest for a minute before filming some of these shots on the hill so I wasn't breathing hard into the microphone.
Another great video! Thank you!!
You're welcome, Pam.
I have been waiting for someone to go explore there, there are great mysteries that lead into pre history there, some pit mines in the area are older than all records and are from some lost past. I've heard millions of tons of ore were mined there in pre history and we don't know where the copper went, and in Europe they have the Bronze Age but never did find enough mines in all the east to explain where all the copper from the bronze came from....high on my bucket list ,like top ten in America! thanks for a look around, just even glimpses of the terrane are fascinating to me, Rock on !!
and the metal detecting,! relics and copper nuggets !!!
I read something someone else sent me yesterday about the copper possibly having been transported to Europe a very long time ago. That's really interesting.
So far, there is no definitive proof of this. Europe has plenty of sources for copper.
Such a cool adventure ....thank you. 👍🏻💙
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you so very much. I really enjoyed this video!
You're welcome. Sorry I was a bit clueless about what I was seeing. It was really fun to explore though.
I was in the area this summer. We just grabbed whatever we saw that had nodules and green looking areas. Turned out I did get some green stones and copper. Can't wait to go up again now that I know what to look for now.
Cool, I'm glad you found some!
Love this! Take it many steps further ~ I was lucky enough to tour Revere Copper Works outside of Syracuse NY, where no doubt many, many shiploads of UP copper were delivered for production. All the shiny copper products were an exciting sight to see, but they had just introduced their "pre-patenized" green finished sheet for roofs and gutters. No thank you lol.
I kind of like how copper patinas to a green color.
I love seeing the green patina of copper, especially on old copper roofs of huge old stone churches. So picturesque!🙂
what an interesting excursion! and bonus: you got used a pickax! the small rock with the copper layer was cool. the slope with the loose stones was 😲 scary. the ruins were fascinating & the chimney was beautiful. the modern concrete with rebar area was curious. there’s an interesting story there. 👍🏻
I was back there last week. This time, I drove up to the top too. I think the top part (that I drove to) is called Cliff North. There's another one of those big chimneys up there too.
“I’m kinda out of my element” at a copper mine. I see what you did there.
You know how people always say, "no pun intended", but usually the pun was very much intended? I think I can safely say that no pun was intended. I really wish I had realized I was making a joke. That's pretty funny.
Michigan Rocks it was funny and I enjoyed it😄
Sure enjoyed your video one of the places I want to check out next time in the U.P.
I had a ball there, even though I was clueless.
This looks like the places I used to explore as a kid with my friends.
Fun place.
Interesting video. Thanks!
Hi Rob,a very nice video ! thanks
You’re welcome, Nikki.
@@MichiganRocks Can I send you a picture on instagram, of a fossil, ifound it in a garage sale 20 years ago in Florida ,maybe u can tell me what it is
@@Nikkisavage100 Sure, but I doubt I'll be able to help you.
I was thinking the same, meminer would have had a blast with his metal detector with you. Lol
I'll have to invite him to come along next time.
Michigan Rocks that would be a really good video adventure IMHO!
@@MichiganRocks Would love to see you and meminer rock hunting and comparing tumbled rocks in the same video, along with Daisy.
@@darkwood777 I think that would be fun too. Maybe I’ll have to make a trip to Canada one of these days.
About 30 years ago I went to a
New Year's Eve wedding in Copper Harbor. The whole week was incredible. My friends were married at the Log Cabin Church
Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church. On the way home I stopped into a shop in Calumet and bought 2 bookends made out of a green stone sawed in two with gorgeous veins of copper running through them. Only the inside where it was cut is polished. The outside is rough. I just had to have them so I spent the $100 on them and am still in awe of them when I pass by them on my shelf.
The only problem with book ends like that is that the polished parts are either on the bottom or against a book. Sounds like you're not using them as book ends.
Great video! Watch out for bald face hornets nests about chest high going up the hill!! If you keep going up to copper country you will meet some cool folks that will give you some hints and you will catch the bug...especially if you get a good metal detector that has good ground balances such as a Garrett AT Pro. I remember the first mine I visited was the Cliff and i found a copper chisel chip by the road. Since then we always go up to that area for vacation!
Thanks for the tips. Thankfully I didn't have any hornet problems. I have the rock bug for sure, but most of my hunting is done on beaches. I haven't learned what to look for at the mines.
So many times I wanted you to pick something up and take it home. There was one fist sized stone that had alot of orange spots in it I felt was very interesting. I was a rock hound kind of when I was a kid. Mom always said I had to wash then if I brought them into my bedroom. I had a place under one of the houses bushes I stuck some under, because they were bigger. I'd like to go to a place like that!! So much fun.
I went to several mines with my kids when they were younger and brought a couple buckets of rocks home. They sat in my basement collecting dust until I finally gave them away. I have found that I would much rather bring home something that I can polish or make something out of. I did slab some rocks from mine piles that had copper in them, but the rest of the rock was very crumbly, so the slabs were useless for making jewelry. I do have a friend who has made jewelry from mine rock, so I know that it's possible to find more solid pieces, but I just don't know how to recognize the good from the bad yet. Maybe someday.
Hi, I just found the cliff road a few days ago. Im in Calumet now. Looking forward to exploring the mine sites. I dont really know anything about rocks. Hope life is treating you good. MJ
PS i did find the old red brick buildings left over from the mining era very interesting. I made a video.
Have fun at the Cliff. You don’t have to know much about rocks to have fun there as I clearly showed in this video.
Interesting video, we have camped at Copper Harbor, love that area. Have you ever hiked Isle Royal, we started training to do it all but I backed out. There is so much to learn there. Good job. Thanks again for sharing with us.
I wish I had been a little more informed, but I wasn’t expecting to find the ruins.
I haven’t been to Isle Royale, but I’d love to go. My wife wouldn’t be interested in doing something quite that rustic.
Michigan Rocks My nephew wanted us to go with him. It was extremely involved. Don’t blame your wife, I opted out quickly. 😂
@@MichiganRocks It’s not all rustic camping. Rock Harbor Lodge on NE end of IR has nice basic accommodations and a dining hall for meals. hiking trails and canoe/kayak rentals nearby. NPS has some guided field trips too.
@@davidl.turner1005 Oh, I didn't know that. I still doubt I could get her to go, but maybe.
Very neat site!
Interesting historical site and potential for stones. Not my specialty either. But a team8- with meMiner would be epic. Thanks for the video, interesting ruins and lovely forest and views.
Copper is probably a little boring if you’ve been hunting silver. There is silver in the Keweenaw Peninsula too, but not as common as copper.
In the beginning of the video when you cross over the wooden bridge I found micro specs of silver not a lot but 4-5 specs in 3 gold pan full I ran. You can a lot of stuff if you spend the time
That's awesome. I have found gold in the black sand on the beaches in the U.P. I haven't found silver though.
you have such good energy
It helps if you turn off the camera during the huffing and puffing.
That was an amazing place with an awesome view. Those walls and chimneys were really cool. Had to suck looking at all that and not really knowing what to look for. See a Capt Paul in the comments knows a little something. You guys thought of doing a video together, or you already did it and I havent seen it? Was fun to watch. Great video
At the risk of offending everyone else, Capt. Paul is my favorite commenter. He is an actual geologist and adds a lot to the comments. He really knows his stuff. I love how he can correct me without being offensive or talking down to me.
We did meet up this past summer. Oh, and his wife is a geologist too! ua-cam.com/video/GkIEJA88Djc/v-deo.html
Rob, I found a website on the internet. Looks like you had a few rocks in your hand while perusing those piles that contained small greenstones....Lake Superior Magazine has an article showing polished stone and greenstone in Basalt..
I think you're right. I suppose I should have brought a couple home. That's ok, I'll go back next summer and I have plenty of rocks in the basement to keep me busy this winter.
One of my favorite mines. Wow! Someone put a bridge over the river. We drove part way up one time. Too long to type the story. LOL
@5:41 is that a piece of thin metal, maybe iron, in the rock? I saw that too but no idea why its there. I found a small rock that had a single dark blue crystal in it, I don't think I was ever able to get an ID on it.
Michigan Tech students were up there doing some research a few years ago. That's a place to go to for information. There's also a store in Calumet that sells books about the mining and different mines.
You need to go back and your timing looks to be good as far as bugs go.
It was way too windy that day for bugs, although I didn't have any problem in the woods either. You might enjoy this video: ua-cam.com/video/GkIEJA88Djc/v-deo.html
I like the 4000 year old copper mines.
Haven't been to any of those yet, but I know copper has been mined in this area for a very long time.
That would be a good place for making a movie about a lost civilization
It would be a good place to make a movie about the Cliff Mine so I could learn something. But, yes, I thought about how the old walls looked like castle walls.
Very cool. When did you make this trip? Thanks. Hope all is well...
I think it was the middle of August.
Hi Rob. You have mentioned on several videos about being eaten alive by mosquitos or black flies. How do you prevent this short of wearing head to toe covering or mainlining Benadryl to deal with the itch? If there's a mosquito in my area code, it finds me!
Mosquitos are pretty easy to deal with. I use Deep Woods Off or something similar if I'm going to be somewhere with a lot of mosquitos, but I'd rather avoid sprays if I can. If I'm sitting in one spot with not too much wind, I love my Thermacells. Thermacells have a fuel cell that heats up a little pad with bug repellant on it and they really work well. They aren't good if you're moving around, they're good at keeping bugs out of a small area.
What I really have problems with is flies on the beach. I've heard them called stable flies or sand flies. They're horrible on some beaches in hot, humid weather. I was just out a couple days ago in October and they were out and biting. The only thing that works for those is a net suit. I have the one I use listed in my Amazon storefront.
I love these exploration videos because I love exploring too. And I'm usually just as ignorant about what I'm looking at! Ha.
And somehow I don’t mind you calling me ignorant. It’s a pretty accurate description for me in this video.
Be careful of poison ivy. In California we have poison oak. All I have to do is look at it to get the rash. Lol. Beautiful area. I didn’t know that Michigan was on my bucket list until I started watching your videos. I don’t do cold, super hot or humidity, so I would have to research the best time to come explore and rock hunt. 70-75 would be perfect.
I'm always on the lookout for poison ivy. It's not usually too hard to find. I went disc golfing for the first time this summer and the whole course was poison ivy. It was a long shower after that, but I must have scrubbed well enough because I didn't get it.
We have a lot of cold and a lot of humidity in the summer. Spring or fall would probably be your best bet.
You are lucky that you didn’t get it. I never used to, but now do every time. Why the heck would they build a disc golf course in poison ivy. Makes you wonder what they were thinking. My brother in law likes to disc golf here. Thanks for the time recommendation.
I have climbed that pile many timed. Best mineral collecting is at the Mohawk mine rock piles.
This is one of the few piles that’s on public land and is legal to dig in from what I understand. What is the name of the mine in Mohawk?
Lol, Mohawk! Although many of those are privately held.
Thanks for another great vid. See Don Chaput, The Cliff-America’s First Great Copper Mine, for history. The Copper Country Explorer site had great explanatory tours of the ruins of this and about everything else up there. Not sure that site is still up.
Thanks David, I'll check that out.
@@MichiganRocks Looks like the Copper Country Explorer site is down but I see it on Facebook and Pinterest. Mike has excellent Field Guides to any place you’d want to go. Site maps, photos, diagrams- amazing stuff.
@@davidl.turner1005 I found the same thing last nigh when I looked it up.
I love this video! We're going here in 3 weeks to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. Is it easy to find the ruins (and path) from large dump piles visible from the parking area? I would love to explore there.
We actually honeymooned in Cornwall, England for a few days and saw plenty of those towers. They stand-out in sharp contrast in a landscape nearly devoid of trees. In Cornwall, the towers were for the pumps as most of their mining was actually below sea level. If I knew how, I'd share some pictures I took, but I don't know how to add a pic :) Thanks for sharing!
The ruins are easy to find. If you climb to the top of the big pile of rocks and walk to the back of it and go into the woods just a little, you should start to see walls. Facing the woods, walk just a little to the left to find the first tower that I showed. The path to the top is in that area. The other tower and walls are in the woods to the right of the pile of rocks. There are actually two rock piles on the bottom of the hill and it’s the woods in between them that has the stuff I showed at the end of the video.
Good luck and happy anniversary!
Great, thank you!!
Just a thought when checking those old tailings rocks you were picking up, crack them open with your rock pick. It will be easier to see the rock on a fresh face. As opposed to the weathered surface you were looking at. Great ruins nice video.
My son in law, who is a geologist, tells me the same thing about beach worn rocks. The trouble is, I'm still not sure what I'm looking at inside. I'm still learning though.
One of the first things you're taught as a geology student is to get a fresh surface too look at. I teach this to all my students when out in the field...
So, I have a few questions. Any wild critters there? Aren't you worried about that possibility? Why didn't you research before you went? Just asking. Beautiful county and stone walls. Thanks.
I wasn’t really sure exactly what mine I was going to go to. I also didn’t expect to find all these ruins, I was just expecting to look at rocks. I have a rock book with a lot of the rocks from this area, but it’s still really hard to identify things.
My main goal was to find greenstone, but there are so many rocks with little green rocks within them that it’s hard to know which ones to grab.
There are plenty of critters in Michigan. The only ones I am concerned about are the cougars. They’re sort of new to Michigan, although they were here natively a long time ago. There are not many of them, so I’m not too concerned. Black bears are not too scary.
Very cool
Hey quick question, If I have a 4lb Barrel on My tumbler, does that mean I can put 4lbs of rocks in it or does that mean that the total weight of rock,grit and water should be a max of 4lbs?
I have a Lortone 33B tumbler that has two three pound barrels. I have never weighed anything and the barrels must be way over three pounds each when full. Since this question came up quite often on the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums, I emailed the company and asked just so I could have a more official answer for people who ask this. I was told that there was no reason to weigh anything. Three pounds is a rough measure of the weight of the rocks only. The barrel, water and grit are going to add a lot more weight. Of course, this was the answer from Lortone, so who knows what other manufacturers are thinking. The National Geographic tumbler for example, has a very small DC motor, so they might think differently. I run my National Geographic tumbler just like any other tumbler though, since I'm not going to get good results unless the barrel is about 3/4 full.
@@MichiganRocks Awesome thanks brother! So fill it 2/3 to 3/4 and dont worry about the weight unless it wont turn basically right lol?
@@vance7354 Yes, the only exception would be if you were tumbling something very, very dense, like lead for example. Don't tumble lead though, I doubt it would shine up.
@@MichiganRocks So the Response from tumble-bee was different, they said not to put more than 6lbs 10 oz total weight on the machine or it will over work and possibly burn out the motor.
The barrel alone weighs over 1 lb. So I am left with about 5lbs of weight to play with between water,grit and rocks.
Also the Tumble-bee spins at about the same speed as the National Geographic tumblers on speed setting 2, so its a faster tumbler for sure than the lortone.
@@vance7354 That's good to know. If the barrels are less than about 2/3 full and it's rolling fast, that's going to be very violent inside as the rocks are flying around. One way to protect fragile rocks from getting too banged up is to fill the barrel more, like 80% or so. Sounds like you can't do that unless you only run one barrel.
Interesting - Yes, I think Daisy would show you the Keepers! That's where having an expert interpreting for you would be fascinating, as there were probably loads of samples worth taking, but without being able to ID, all looks like lots of old rocks! They really were busy weren't they? Always have found the Keweenaw fascinating - thanks for taking us along. 👍🐾🦘😉
Yes, I definitely need a guide with me. You can read about rocks in books, but when you are actually there, so many rocks can just be overwhelming.
@@MichiganRocks I think
Capt Paul is your man. He sort of offered, after the fact, but maybe he'll issue a raincheck 😊
@@SisterShirley Did you see this video? ua-cam.com/video/GkIEJA88Djc/v-deo.html
This was really very interesting! I did a screen shot of the sign at the beginning so I could read the whole thing. The rocks are definitely a lot prettier at the beach. Ha Ha I wouldn’t have a clue what to look for. You have to wonder what was the purpose of all the stone walls. We’re some of them foundations for building. And then what was the purpose of the concrete footings with the threaded rods, mountings for the steam engines ? The problem with being a senior citizen is that there’s very few old timers left to ask about how things used to be or how they did things back then. I’ve seen very old houses with foundations that had cut stones about the size of concrete blocks. You wonder how they did that back then. Have you watched the PBS series “Poldark” that ran the past 5 years. A small part of the series involved copper mines that were owned by the Poldark family in England. Their mines were on the top of hills, had big square stone smoke stacks. They had steam engines and I believe had to run pumps to keep the water out of the shafts. That had to be a scary job for sure. I appreciate all the info that Captain Paul gives us. Thanks for another delightful excursion !!!
I have not watched Poldark. Capt. Paul commented that the smoke stacks were for the boilers for steam engines. I don’t know what any of the other foundations were for.
Many of the walls and foundations are for the boiler houses and the steam engines, as well as other workshops. One of the pads I believe was for a headframe. It's been a while since I've been back there; too busy looking for specimens.... ;-)
Capt Paul Thank you for sharing your knowledge !!! It would have been great to have seen this in operation. I love old stuff. Are you a Michigan resident ?
I was raised on the Keweenaw. Sadly, I had to leave for work...
I was up there this summer.. visited the cliff cemetery..was sad to see it so overgrown
I have seen the sign to it, but I haven't checked it out. Apparently, there are two or three cemeteries.
@@MichiganRocks I believe there are two cemeteries; one catholic and one protestant.
@@briank8077 I was told there's a Jewish one too.
I just learned about "copper replacement agates" that only come from pretty much exactly where you are: tailings of copper mines on the Keweenaw peninsula... If you ever come across some, I'll trade you 100:1 Thunder Bay seam agate or amethyst for a specimen. At 11:42 it looks like you're picking up the right kind of rock to find them... I'm a little jealous but also very excited watching you pick around in this!
Only a few mines on the Keweenaw produce the copper agates; Cliff is not one of them.
@@captpaul8827 Do you ever find them? I'll offer you the same trade.
If I ever found a copper replacement agate, I’d be keeping it for myself. That would be the best find ever.
@@MichiganRocks Me too! Hope you find one some day!
My Mom's side of the family were all copper miners I still have family in Mohawk. They live in the restored Mohawk mining captains house. Here you were at the top of the upper cliff were two vertical shifts from what I could see from pictures.
There's a lot of history in that area. I just love visiting up there every summer. My sister lives in the area.
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