Black River Harbor
Michigan
Find: Prehnite (pink & green), copper ore, banded iron formation, oolitic jasper, Lake Superior Agate
GPS: 46.66443, -90.04705
Nearest city: Ironwood, MI
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
This spot had a wide variety of finds, with a lot of bright colors. It had a lot of very colorful prehnite, especially. The easiest way to access this one is by heading across a suspension bridge over a river from the parking area. It’ll lead you to the Eastern part of the beach. The Western portion appears to be reached by walking down towards the campground, but I only hit the Eastern part during my time here.
Cover up your skin if the stable flies are out in the earlier months of the Summer. They are relentless and bug spray is ineffective against them.
NOTE: There was a $5/day fee to access the parking area when I visited in 2023. I believe it’s cash only - just fill out the little slip and drop it in the box.
Video
Check out the video for a better look at what can be found when exploring this spot.
3 Helpful Tools
Chest Waders
Chest waders are great to stay dry if you want to get in the lake.
Agate Scoop
An agate scoop is helpful to pick things up faster and farther away from you.
Classifier
A classifier is fun to sit with if you’re a fan of small agates and stones. One with a larger, 1-inch mesh would be what I’d pick.
This is what the variety of rock looks like up here in about a half-foot of water.
An example of the brightly colored prehnite.
A closeup of the prehnite in the previous photo. There are small, visible specs of copper. This was under a 15x macro lens that clips onto an iPhone.
Initially confused by this, I think I'd call this chrysocolla. It's tricky to find in Lake Superior unless you're near a copper-heavy portion of the UP.
Speak of the devil... copper. The orange flakes are copper grains. The lighting in the video captures it a little better.
Here is a palm-sized oolitic hematite jasper.
A tiny agate, about an inch wide.
There's some debate over what to call pink and green rocks found in the Upper Peninsula. The more I've researched it, the less certain I've become. Beautiful, though.
Banded iron formation. You'll see lots of this on the Southern shore of Lake Superior.