Roussain Island Beach
Ontario
Find: Feldspar/calcite, unakite, zeolites, colorful granites, hematite
GPS: 46.992643, -84.787725
Nearest city: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
This is a spot just North of Sawpit Bay, which is one of the more popular spots on the seldom-visited Eastern shore of Lake Superior. The coordinates for this beach don’t have a listed name or any signage. The nearest landmark was Roussain Island, therefore this is listed as Roussain Island Beach for now. The island itself is nearby just to the South by 1km or so.
If you venture out here in waders, be very careful of your footing. In the video below, I walked extensively out there but it was very slippery and there were jagged edges everywhere you step. Nonetheless, there are beautiful volcanic intrusions that create orange stripes that you can see through the water. They extend far under the landscape and even further into the depths of Superior.
There is a well-worn footpath to come down here if you head South on the Trans Canada Highway. When parking, please ensure your vehicle is all the way off the road.
Video
Check out the video to best see what can be found when exploring this spot.
This is the 3rd spot that I visited in the video.
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.
Some water-washed hematite
There are long veins that extend both under the shore and deep out to Lake Superior. The video is a little better for illustrating how far out into the lake these went.
This material looks a lot like what is in the veins that are underneath the water. It almost appeared to be a calcite or possibly feldspar.
This has a very similar appearance to the thomsonite found in Minnesota's North Shore near Lutsen. I am unsure what this was, but was surprised to find it here.
While there's some layers and bands, this looks closer to prehnite than a Lake Superior Agate.