Crumbling Into Time

Crumbling Into Time. . , It seems the only constant in this world is change! No two views of the Pictured Rocks cliffs are the same. Erosion by wind, water, and ice is a continuous, ongoing process. , Two good examples of change in the 20th Century include the collapse of the Grand Portal Arch (1900) and Chapel Rock Arch (1940's). , As you visit Miners Castle what do you think it will look like next time you visit? What changes are taking place here every day? , Grand Portal Arch Collapse - 1900 , Chapel Rock was once connected by an arch which fell in the 1940's. Today, all that remains is the white pine root connecting the two rocks. , Portions of Grand Portal Arch continue to fall into the lake. , Caption: , Munising News - September 22, 1900 , The Grand Portal is no more. The roof caved in Sunday night, dropped into the sea, and disappeared from view. The Grand Portal was one of the grandest, most sublime and interesting sights of the Pictured Rocks. The cavity was large enough for a good sized steamer to enter into and it was perhaps a hundred feet or more in height from the surface of the water. Frequently large chunks of rock fell from the roof. The portal was formed in this way. The support of the roof was becoming weak, however, and it is presumed that the heavy sea on Sunday night was the cause of the destruction of one of nature's most wonderful and marvelous works. A berry picker who returned from that vicinity yesterday and was encamped within a half mile of the Grand Portal says that when the huge mass of rock fell it shook the ground so that dishes were upset upon the table in his camp. There are other cavities being formed in the rocks in various places and after many years there will be other grand portals formed by the action of the water, but it may be centuries from now, unless a huge mass of rock should become detached at one time.