The Mouth of the Gooseberry River
November 19, 2020
Photographer: Dale Hugo
Summary Author: Dale Hugo
Seen above is the Gooseberry River, Minnesota as it empties into Lake Superior. The beach is mostly rhyolite. The sturdy basalt-built pump house on top of the patio at center-right was completed in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which built most of the park back in the late '30s. The park offices and buildings including the interpretive center were closed this day due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the trails were open. This photo was taken from the Gitchie-Gummi trail on the north side of the river. Drainage basins of the rivers on the North Shore are small, so during dry spells, the rivers' flow is pretty low. Rivers closer to Canada have large drainage basins and, therefore steadier, stronger flows; less affected by droughts. The basalt pillars on the lava rock ledge extending out into Lake Superior were built by the CCC and support massive chains between them. They're about 6 feet (2 m) high. On a summer day, many people would be on the rocks and beach searching for agates and skipping stones.