US-MI-Tahquamenon+Falls+State+Park--Lower+Falls

Also see Tahquamenon Falls State Park
 * =Birding in Michigan=

Chippewa County
=Tahquamenon Falls State Park= =Lower Falls= Paradise, Michigan 49768 Tahquamenon Falls State Park web page Tahquamenon Falls State Park map Lower Falls Trail map

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Tahquamenon Falls SP--Lower Falls
Coordinates: 46.6019, -85.19768 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding Lower Falls
The Lower Falls area offers a variety of birding opportunities. Along the "Mainland Trail", a .75 mile boardwalk through a narrow conifer lowland, river edge songbirds mingle with hardwood dwellers. Summer residents include American redstart, northern waterthrush, mourning warbler, red-eyed vireo, and scarlet tanager. Bald eagles fish the rapids below the falls early in the morning. In the evenings, common nighthawks swoop up emerging insects in mid air. Other species common in and around the pool below the falls include the red-breasted and common mergansers, great blue heron, spotted sandpiper, belted kingfisher, osprey, and northern rough-winged swallow. From Lake Superior Birding Trail brochure

About Lower Falls
There is ample parking and several trails in the Lower Falls area. From Tahquamenon Falls State Park web page

About Tahquamenon Falls State Park
Tahquamenon Falls State Park encompasses close to 50,000 acres stretching over 13 miles. Most of this is undeveloped woodland without roads, buildings or power lines. The centerpiece of the park, and the very reason for its existence, is the Tahquamenon River with its waterfalls. The Upper Falls is one the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. A maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second has been recorded cascading over these falls. Four miles downstream is the Lower Falls, a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island. Although not as dramatic as the Upper Falls, they are equally magnificent. The falls can be viewed from the river bank or from the island, which can be reached by rowboat rented from a park concession. The island walk affords a view of the falls in the south channel.

This is the land of Longfellow's Hiawatha - "by the rushing Tahquamenaw" Hiawatha built his canoe. Long before the white man set eyes on the river, the abundance of fish in its waters and animals along its shores attracted the Ojibwa Indians, who camped, farmed, fished and trapped along its banks. In the late 1800's came the lumber barons and the river carried their logs by the millions to the mills. Lumberjacks, who harvested the tall timber, were among the first permanent white settlers in the area.

Rising from springs north of McMillan, the Tahquamenon River drains the watershed of an area of more than 790 square miles. From its source, it meanders 94 miles before emptying into Whitefish Bay. The amber color of the water is caused by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the large amounts of foam, which has been the trademark of the Tahquamenon since the days of the voyager. From Tahquamenon Falls State Park web page



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media type="custom" key="28381185" || L609952 US US-MI US-MI-033 46.6019 -85.19768 Tahquamenon Falls SP--Lower Falls