Miner's Castle is just one of many spectacular rock formations within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The multicolored sandstone cliffs stretch for 15 miles along the south shore of Lake Superior. The shoreline was molded into shape 10,000 years ago by the last glaciation, with additional sculpting provided by centuries of erosion, ice, and pounding Lake Superior waves. The iron, manganese, limonite, and copper in the water create the many colors on the cliffs.
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The region was part of the land of the Ojibwa, a woodland Indian tribe who lived on the margins of Lake Superior. Pierre Esprit Radisson was the first documented visitor to the Pictured Rocks, in 1658. The French fur trader included an extensive reference of the area in his memoirs. Up to that time it had been largely unexplored by any Europeans. Had this area been located near early population centers, it would have emerged as a major tourist destination much earlier.
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