Tahquamenon Falls

Tahquamenon Falls
Tahquamenon Falls
	The Upper Tahquamenon Falls
	Location within the state of Michigan
Location	Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Luce County, Michigan
Coordinates	46°34′26.4″N 85°15′21.6″W / 46.574000°N 85.256000°WCoordinates: 46°34′26.4″N 85°15′21.6″W / 46.574000°N 85.256000°W
Type	Block
Total height	48 feet (15 m)
Number of drops	77
Watercourse	Tahquamenon River
Average; flow rate	7,000 gallons per second ; (average annual mean) ;

The Tahquamenon Falls (/təˈkwɑːmiːnɑːn/ tuh-KWAH-mee-nahn or /təˈkwɑːmənən/ tuh-KWAH-muh-nuhn) are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River. Both are located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains. Consequently, the upper falls is nicknamed, "The Root Beer Falls".^[2]

The upper falls is more than 200 feet (60 m) across with a drop of approximately 48 feet (14 m). During the late spring runoff, the river drains as much as 50,000 US gallons (190,000 L) of water per second, making the upper falls the third most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls.

The lower falls, located four miles (6.5 km) downstream, is a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island which can be reached by rowboat. A hiking trail runs between the falls along the riverside, and visitors often play in the lower falls during the summer heat.

The falls are within Tahquamenon Falls State Park, between Newberry and Paradise. They are a popular tourist destination in the Upper Peninsula during all seasons. Snowmobile trails lead almost to the falls, and walkways are kept clear for most of the winter.

While the name Tahquamenon is now primarily associated with the falls, it appears to have originally designated an island in Whitefish Bay: Tahquamenon Island. The first written record of the name appears as "Outakouaminan" in a 1671 French map.^[3]

The upper falls is located at

46°34′29″N 85°15′23″W / 46.57472°N 85.25639°W, and the lower falls is at 46°36′12″N 85°12′25″W / 46.60333°N 85.20694°W

In popular culture[]

The Tahquamenon is noted as being the land of Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha, which contains the line: "by the rushing Tahquamenaw", where Hiawatha built his canoe. Additionally, "Tahquamenon Falls" is a song from Sufjan Stevens' album Michigan. The upper falls are visited in an episode of the Adult Swim series Joe Pera Talks with You.