Big Iron, Michigan, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II-III (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Avg. Gradient | 29 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 52 fpm |
Quick Facts:
Location: White Pine to Silver City
Shuttle Length: 6.1 miles. (See details in "Directions" Tab.)
Character: Ledge drops in a fairly uniform-width channel.
Drainage area at put-in: approximately 97 square miles.
Put-in is approximately 760' elevation.
Take-out is approximately 600' elevation (Lake Superior, mean level).
Thus total elevation change is approximately 160'.
Reach consists of alternating sections of light bedrock/ledge rapids and moving water, plus a
bigger drop, Bonanza Falls. Bonanza comes at 4.5 miles into the run and may easily push
into class IV territory at higher flows.
Good photos of the falls are available online at:
Hunts-UPguide.com.
CopperCountry.com.
The resolution on Google Maps for this area is excellent. Therefore, we highly
recommended going to the 'Map' tab, clicking 'Satellite', zooming in to the maximum resolution
available (without losing image), and doing a 'virtual walk' of this reach!
Those seeking a longer run may wish to put-in about five miles upstream of White Pine (if the
logging roads are passable for access).
The (rather smaller) Little Iron lies immediately to the West of this run, and may be a great
'companion-run' (if they prove both to be at runnable levels) or the Big and Little Iron runs may
be 'fall-back' runs for each other in the event one is too high (or low) and the other may be
runnable.
There are also runs nearby on the W.Br.Big Iron
and Mineral River. Accessing these rivers (as with the aforementioned upper section of
the Big Iron) may require navigating the maze of logging roads in the area, many of which are not
seasonally maintained. This will likely stymie any early spring attempts at access, but should
allow later spring or early summer runs.
No photos found. Visual from put-in.
Drainage area at put-in is approximately 97 square miles.
This is about twice the size of the Falls River in L'Anse (48 sq.mi. at Hwy.41),
or about 1.5 times the size of the Silver River (64 sq.mi at it's gauge at Skanee Road).
| Gauge/flow analysis (based on gauge data 1952-05-01 to 1957-09-30 ) | |
| Drainage area at gauge | 98.1 sq.mi. |
| Minimum mean daily flow during gauge period | 2.7 cfs ( 1954-08-22) |
| 90% of time flow exceeds | 10 cfs |
| 10% of time flow exceeds | 340 cfs |
| Maximum mean daily flow during gauge period | 3,130 cfs ( 1957.04.21) |
| 10/90 ratio ('flashy-ness') (under 3 is fairly steady, over 10 is quite 'flashy') | 34 |
No Comments
Users can submit comments.| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 | Bonanza Falls | III+ |  |
Described as "60-foot-wide falls consisting of two separate drops spaced about 200 yards apart. The upper falls drops about ten feet; the lower about three feet." A decent photo of the falls (at low water) may be found at: Webshots first photo and Webshots second photo. This is part of a larger webpage which also has a fine write-up of hikers exploring many other sights within Porcupine Mountain State Park (including three other falls), and includes some wonderful history on the area. Check that out at: The Ruck Sack.
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White Pine to Silver City (5.5 miles), Big Iron Michigan, US (mobile)
