For the second year in a row there was little to no ice flow on Lake Superior. In other years the ice transports rocks around the basin and moves new rocks to our beach, including agates. The ice we did have moved back and forth at the end of spring and did dredge some rocks and sand up the beach. Also, we have had a lot of rain this spring so Lake Superior is within a couple of inches of the all-time monthly high for July, well above the monthly average. Thus, on some beaches the lake level has covered up the rocks. However, on other beaches the waves have pushed the rocks back up the beach. The movement of rocks along the shoreline is in continual motion – so it is always worth treasure hunting in Grand Marais to look for the elusive agate.
I have agate photos of several nice specimens found in the Grand Marais area. First, however, are a few Keweenaw agates found by David Schuder. The first one was hand-chiseled out of a basaltic cliff, the second is from High Rock Bay, and the third is a beautiful copper replacement agate.
The next agate was found last year by Gary Inman. It should have been posted prior to this, but the computer file was missing in action.
The next monster 1.5 pound specimen is a brecciated agate found by Jill Haldeman (Grand Marais). She brought it into the Gitche Gumee Museum on July 19, 2017.
On July 10th Rod Thomas, from Durand, MI, came into the museum with the half pounder shown below. He found the agate in the Grand Marais area.
Tammy, from Muskegon, did not want to be photographed, but the agate she found near the Lake Superior State Forest Campground, which is located a dozen or so miles east of Grand Marais, is worth showing off. This is a nice skip-n-atom agate. She brought the agate into the museum on July 8th.
Another even larger skip-n-atom agate was found by Brenda Van Appel, from Hesperia, MI. She brought it into the museum on July 20th.
