Castle Rock is a geological

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

stack Stack may refer to: Places * Stack Island, an island game reserve in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia, in Tasmania’s Hunter Island Group * Blue Stack Mountains, in Co. Donegal, Ireland People * Stack (surname) (including a list of people ...

and tourist attraction located 3 miles (5 km) north of

St. Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered autono ...

Interstate 75 in Michigan Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Miami, Florida, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, north of Tol ...

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

Description

Castle Rock, which rises 195.8 feet (59 m) over the waters of nearby

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...

, was created by erosion of surrounding land. After the

Wisconsinan Glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

, post-glacial

Lake Algonquin Lake Algonquin was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Nipigon, and Lake Nipissin ...

formed. The

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

melt off caused the waters of Lake Algonquin to be much higher than the water level of Lake Huron is today. Over time, the declining water eroded much of the land. Castle Rock, which resisted this erosion, is made of limestone ''

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of d ...

''; it is a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorpholog ...

or sea chimney, geologically similar to several features on nearby

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...

, such as Arch Rock or

Sugar Loaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a r ...

. Local residents have told many stories about Castle Rock and its mythical and actual history. It has been advertised as "Ojibway's Lookout", but the nearby hill of

Rabbit's Back Rabbit's Back, also called ''Rabbit Back'', is an elevated promontory, or peninsula, that extends eastward into Lake Huron. It is located north of St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace in the U.S. state of Michigan. The promontory separates two shallo ...

was more than likely the true lookout. Heroic statues of

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the ...

and his sidekick,

Babe the Blue Ox Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major ...

, greet visitors to the rock, and there is a gift shop. C. C. Eby purchased the stack and an adjacent tourist stand in 1928, and opened Castle Rock to the public. It continues to be owned and operated by the Eby family as a seasonal tourist attraction.Domm, Robert W. (2009)
''Michigan Yesterday & Today''
p. 137. MBI Publishing Company. It is open for business from mid- May through mid-October. Visitors are encouraged to climb an outdoor staircase to the top of the rock. A small admission fee is charged.

Gallery

File:2009-0619-UP034-CastleRock.jpg, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox File:2009-0619-CastleRock-panorama.jpg, Wide panoramic view from the top of Castle Rock File:2009-0619-CastleRock-stairs.jpg, Steep stairs lead to the top

References

{{Coord, 45.91059, -84.74163, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title Geology of Michigan Landforms of Mackinac County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Mackinac County, Michigan Roadside attractions in Michigan Stacks of the United States

Description

Gallery

See also

References