At the shore of an inland sea Aug 31, 2020

At the shore of an inland sea

We"re looking out from a cavern at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan"s Upper Peninsula. The area"s named for its colorful sandstone cliffs, which stretch for 15 miles along the shores of the largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior. As groundwater leaches out of the rocks, it carries minerals such as iron, manganese, and copper that paint the cliffs in shades of red, pink, black, green, and other colors. The park itself, which is roughly the size of five Manhattans, boasts waterfalls, beaches, and rock formations—some resembling human profiles and castle turrets—carved over time by relentless waves and the unforgiving weather of Yooper Country.

© Kenneth Keifer/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Aug 31, 2018Let’s have a ball
Aug 31, 2019Walk the line
Aug 31, 2021Bridge over the River Tara
Aug 31, 2022Blue linckia sea stars in Papua New Guinea
Aug 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
Aug 31, 2024Tassili n’Ajjer, Sahara, Algeria
Aug 31, 2025Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 11, 2023Edinburgh Art Festival
Apr 2, 2022Whangārei Falls in New Zealand
Jul 11, 2018All is silent for Big Ben’s musical milestone
Aug 28, 2022Bearded reedlings in Flevoland
Apr 19, 2021Rays on parade
May 28, 2023Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Feb 21, 2020Carnival comes to Olinda
Dec 26, 2024Boxing Day
Jun 13, 2025Vila Franca Islet, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Nov 4, 2022A century since Tut s tomb was discovered
Oct 13, 2022Alaska moose
Jun 27, 2020Looking for peace on the precipice
May 7, 2019Spring comes to Glacier National Park
Jul 6, 2022Kissing Day
Dec 11, 2022Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Jun 10, 2020The Millennium at 20
Jan 19, 2023Sundance Film Festival opens in Park City
Jul 4, 2021Happy Independence Day!
Feb 26, 2022Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Oct 12, 2022Fossil Day
May 2, 2019Making it work—in Norway
Aug 3, 2020The monsoon arrives in the desert
Apr 25, 2023World Penguin Day
Jul 31, 2019Go climb a tree
Jun 2, 2021The dry days of winter in Etosha
Sep 1, 2025Labor Day parade in 1915 Chicago
Jul 16, 2020Summertime in Alaska
Oct 11, 2022Tortula moss, Netherlands
Feb 25, 2024Black History Month
Sep 20, 2020Celebrating sea otters