Palisade Head

Coordinates: 47°19′11″N 91°12′59″W / 47.31972°N 91.21639°W / 47.31972; -91.21639

Palisade Head cliffs on Lake Superior, view northeast toward Shovel Point

Palisade Head is a large rock formation on the North Shore of Lake Superior in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is within Tettegouche State Park but not contiguous with the rest of that park.[1] Palisade Head is located at milepost 57 on scenic Minnesota State Highway 61 in Beaver Bay Township, Lake County, approximately 54 miles (86 km) northeast of Duluth and three miles (five km) northeast of Silver Bay.

Geology

Palisade Head is formed from a rhyolitic lava flow which was extruded some 1.1 billion years ago. During the Mesoproterozoic era of the Precambrian eon, the continent spread apart on the Midcontinent Rift System extending from what is now eastern Lake Superior through Duluth to Kansas; this rifting process stopped before an ocean developed. A flow some 200 feet (60 meters) thick formed extremely hard volcanic rock which resisted a billion years of erosion which cut down surrounding formations.[2] This formed both Palisade Head and Shovel Point, which is within the main part of Tettegouche State Park about two miles (three kilometers) to the east.[3][4] The feature is a shallow headland, with Lake Superior to the southwest, southeast, and northeast. Its high point is over 300 feet (approximately 100 meters) above the level of the lake; the lakeside cliffs stand up to several hundred feet (60 meters) above water level.[5][6]

Flora and fauna

Palisade Head rising above an intermediate point, viewed from the west near Silver Bay, Minnesota

The headland is covered by a mixed forest of white spruce, mountain ash, aspen, paper birch, and oak.[7][8] Raptors can often be seen soaring over the cliffs. Peregrine falcons nest on Palisdade Head,[9] Bald eagles nest in the area, and thousands of hawks of several species can be seen migrating along the shoreline in the fall.[10][11] Trees are sparse, but there are plentiful wild blueberries and, less commonly, gooseberries.

Human uses

Palisade Head is undeveloped; there are no improvements except for an access road, antenna tower, short-term parking, and a few low rock walls near the edge of the cliffs. On clear days there are views of the Sawtooth Mountains to the northeast, Split Rock Lighthouse to the southwest, the Bayfield Peninsula and Apostle Islands of Wisconsin across the lake to the south, and the ship traffic on Lake Superior.[6] It is a regional center for rock climbing with many routes up the lakeshore cliffs.[12] These cliffs were used for more sinister, albeit fictional purposes in The Good Son, partially filmed on location at Palisade Head.[13]

References

Looking north along Lake Superior's north shore from the top of Palisade Head. In the distance, Shovel Point (Tettegouche State Park) is visible.
  1. ↑ "Map, Tettegouche State Park" (PDF). Minnesota DNR. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Lake Superior Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Report - Minnesota" (PDF). MnPCA. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  3. ↑ Ojakangas, Richard W.; Charles L. Matsch (1982). Minnesota's Geology. Illus. Dan Breedy. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0953-5.
  4. ↑ "America's Volcanic Past - Minnesota". USGS. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  5. ↑ "Topographic map". The National Map. USGS via Microsoft Research Maps. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  6. 1 2 Tracy, Ben (2006-09-25). "Finding Minnesota: Palisade Head". WCCO-TV. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  7. ↑ "Palisade Head, Minnesota". Native Tree Society. 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  8. ↑ "Fall Color Reports – Palisade Head". Minnesota DNR. 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  9. ↑ "Tettegouche". State Parks. Minnesota DNR. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  10. ↑ "Tettegouche Park Info". Minnesota DNR. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  11. ↑ "North Shore birds". Minnesota DNR. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  12. ↑ "Rockclimbing database - Palisade Head". rockclimbing.com. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  13. ↑ "Filming Locations for The Good Son". IMDB. Retrieved 2007-01-06.

External links

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