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MICHIGAN 497 Tequamenon, flowing into Lake Superior ; the Cheboygan, Thunder Bay, Au Sable, and Sag- maw, into Lake Huron ; the Huron and Kaisin, into Lake Erie ; and the St. Joseph, Kalama- zoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee, Grand Trav- erse, Manistique, and Escanaba, into Lake Michigan. Most of these are small, but the streams are so numerous that all parts of the state are abundantly watered. The Grand, Saginaw, St. Joseph, and some others are navigable for short distances. Many small ponds are also scattered over the surface. The lower peninsula is composed wholly of groups of the Devonian and lower carbonife- rous series of rocks, except the central portion of the country, from which the streams flow on one side into Lake Huron, and on the other into Lake Michigan, which is occupied by the coal measures and permo-carboniferous series. Though this is the most elevated portion of the peninsula, the surface is little more than moderately rolling, the strata are horizontal, and the bituminous coal beds lie mostly too low to be worked without raising the water by pumping. The coal field, which embraces about 12,000 sq. m., is open to Lake Huron by Saginaw bay, the shores of which are mostly in this formation. It extends as far S. as Jack- son, on the line of the Michigan Central rail- road, where a bed 4 ft. thick is opened and worked 90 ft. below the surface. From the difficulty of obtaining the coal in large quan- tities, but little of it is shipped, and even the supplies for the Lake Superior iron works are carried chiefly from eastern Ohio. Around the coal field the underlying carboniferous lime- stone crops out in a narrow belt, and contains in some localities gypseous shales and some plaster of Paris. To this succeeds the wider outcrop of the slates and sandstones of the Portage and Chemung groups, which stretch along the shores of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The limestones and other strata of the Helderberg and Niagara groups sur- round these, sweeping around into northern Ohio and Indiana and eastern "Wisconsin, and forming the island of Mackinaw and the point of the peninsula S. of this island. The mineral productions found in these formations are of no great importance. The limestones give fer- tility to the soil, and are abundantly supplied for all the purposes they can serve. From the shores of Lake Huron, near Thunder bay, an excellent stone is quarried for grindstones ; and near Saginaw bay and in the valley of Saginaw river salt water is obtained by boring. The statistics of the production of salt, which is extensive and still increasing, are given be- low. The northern peninsula exhibits four geological formations: the lower Silurian; the copper-bearing rocks ; the iron-bearing rocks, corresponding, it is assumed, with the Huronian system of Canada ; and the granitic rocks, be- lieved to be the equivalents of the Laurentian of Canada. The Silurian underlies the E. pla- teau, and flanks the Copper range on the south, forming also the valleys between the different members of that range. It is made up of va- rious sandstones and limestones. The copper- bearing rocks are confined to the Mineral or Copper range, but occur outside of the penin- sula on Isle Royale. This is the most produc- tive copper district in the world, except Chili. Silver is frequently found in connection with the copper. The N. and W. portions of the central region of the peninsula, bordering on Lake Superior and the copper-bearing series, are occupied by the Huronian formation, which consists of a series of extensively folded beds of diorite, quartzite, chloritic schists, clay and mica slates, and graphitic shales, among which are intercalated the extensive beds of magnetic, specular, and other iron ores, for which this region is famous. The rest of the peninsula is occupied by the Laurentian series. The cop- per mines are in Ontonagon, Houghton (which contains the richest mines), and Keweenaw cos. The iron mines are in Marquette co. Ac- cording to the census of 1870, there were 27 copper mines, with 86 steam engines of 5,943 horse power; hands employed, 4,188; capital invested, $5,866,374; wages paid, $2,346,535; value of product, $4,312,167 (total product of the United States, $5,201,312). The number of iron mines was 11, with 20 steam engines of 922 horse power ; hands employed, 2,005 ; cap- ital invested, $3,810,000; wages paid, $1,270,- 698; tons of ore obtained, 690,393; value, $2,677,965. The yield of iron ore was greater than that of any other state except Pennsyl- vania. The yield of copper ore in 1873 was 18,636 tons (2,000 Ibs. each), and the aggregate product of the mines from their opening in 1845 to the close of that year was 194,333 tons. The iron product of the state in 1873 was 1,250,000 tons (2,240 Ibs.) of ore mined and 75,000 of pig iron manufactured. The total yield from the opening of the mines in 1856 to the close of 1873 was 6,784,129 tons of ore and 428,580 of pig iron. (See COPPER MINES, and IRON ORE.) Michigan abounds with natural objects and an- tiquities interesting to the traveller. Among the former the most noteworthy are the " Pic- tured Rocks," on the shores of Lake Superior, about 30 m. W. of Sault Ste. Marie. These are sandstone bluffs of various colors, worn by the action of the waters into grotesque forms re- sembling castles, temples, arches, colonnades, &c., which from a steamer on the lake have the appearance of a gorgeous picture. These rocks extend along the shore for about 12 m., and rise from 200 to 300 ft. above the water. Sometimes cascades shoot over the precipice so that a vessel may sail between the descend- ing waters and the natural wall of rock. In the northern peninsula and on Isle Royale there are the remains of very ancient mines and mining tools, and it is evident that a race well advanced in civilization occupied the country at some very distant period in the past, of which the Indians found in posses- sion by the early explorers from Canada could