The Formation Today
Waterfalls are short-lived geological formations. Their successful operation causes them to erode themselves out of existence, and they degenerate into rapids. When Mackinac Falls was submerged, however, it ceased to erode. The formation "froze" underwater in the form that it had been when it disappeared under the water of Lake Huron.
The lip of what was once Mackinac Falls today lies under 110 feet (33 m) of water. The base of the waterfall formation lies approximately 210 feet (63 m) down. The waterfall was discovered on August 16, 2007 by the Great Lakes research vessel Pride of Michigan as it took careful soundings of the lakebed east of Mackinac Island.
Under current geological conditions, the waters of four North American Great Lakes drain through Niagara Falls, which is 167 feet (51 m) tall. By contrast, Mackinac Falls drained one Great Lake and was 100 feet (30 m) tall.
Read more about this topic: Mackinac Falls
Famous quotes containing the words formation and/or today:
“Those who were skillful in Anatomy among the Ancients, concluded from the outward and inward Make of an Human Body, that it was the Work of a Being transcendently Wise and Powerful. As the World grew more enlightened in this Art, their Discoveries gave them fresh Opportunities of admiring the Conduct of Providence in the Formation of an Human Body.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“Chamberlain’s visit to Hitler today may bring things to a head or may result in a temporary postponement of what looks to me like an inevitable conflict within the next five years.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)