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Marquette's Famous
Upper Harbor |
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The
Upper Harbor features many great things to see:
- Things Like Presque Isle Park the crown jewel of
Marquette's recreation area.
- The LS&I dock in Marquette’s Upper Harbor featuring 700' to 1000' ore boats daily.
- Marquette's Presque Marina
- Also the Upper Harbors Lighthouse,
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Presque Isle Park
As Marquette's
recreational crown jewel, special attention is given here to Presque Isle
Park. The popular regional facility is located on Presque Isle ("almost" an
island), a 323 acre forested oval shaped headland/peninsula which juts into
Lake Superior in the northern tip of the City. Presque Isle is known
throughout the United States for its natural beauty Early residents of
Marquette traveled there by boat since there was no bridge over the Dead
River. Originally it was designated as a government lighthouse reservation.
Through the efforts of Peter White, a bill was passed on July 12, 1886, by
the United States Congress deeding the Island to the City of Marquette.
Presque Isle Cove
The cove is a popular shore at Presque Isle, a city park in a
wilderness setting on the north side of Marquette. Black Rocks, some of the
earth's oldest rocks that are Precambrian and over 2 billion years, provides
a sheltered entry from a clean pebble beach. Underwater are some of the
oldest rock on earth. The dark basalt here is criss-crossed with lighter
colored mineral veins, including seams of pyrite and galena which were mined
for silver in the 1840's. Black Rocks, some of the earth's oldest
rocks that are Precambrian and over 2 billion years old
LS&I Ore Dock
The first massive ore dock at Presque Isle was built in 1896
and extended 1,200 feet out into the harbor. It was 54 feet high and was
divided into 200 poc kets,
each holding 160 tons. This dock proved inadequate after only 15 years of
operation as the freighter on the lake increased in size and capacity. The
new concrete dock was completed in 1912 and was the first of this type on
Superior. It is 54 feet wide and 75 feet high and has a capacity of 50,000
tons of ore. In 1939 a 2,816 foot breakwater was completed to protect the
dock and the harbor.
Presque Isle Harbor Lighthouse
Located at the end of a rugged
stoned breakwater at Marquette's Presque Isle Park is the red beacon that
still guides ships day and night into the railroad ore docks. It is
the one of the oldest light houses in Marquette.
Please note that all trips are weather pending! The decision to cancel
trips will be at the discretion of the Captain. If a trip is cancelled due
to weather, you will have the option to reschedule or receive a
refund.
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