Iconic Tettegouche sea stack vanishes in gale

REGIONAL— A beloved and often-photographed sea stack along the Lake Superior shoreline of northeastern Minnesota’s Tettegouche State Park has been toppled by the intense winter storm that struck the area earlier this month.

The sea stack was all that remained of a naturally formed stone arch, which had once connected the stack with a nearby cliff. The surviving stack was about 15-20 feet high and about 8 feet in diameter, estimated Kurt Mead, interpretive naturalist at Tettegouche State Park.

In the wake of the gales, the sea stack was gone, washed away in the storm that dumped an estimated 15 inches of snow in the park and 21.7 inches in Duluth. East winds gusting in excess of 50 mph kicked up mammoth waves on Lake Superior.

Mead said Tettegouche is a popular spot for photographers who want to capture the dramatic winds, waves, and ice from a storm on Lake Superior.

During the recent storm, Mead said “the park was crawling with photographers, most of whom were getting wet by the spray. It was that big of a storm, and they couldn’t have been any happier, just shooting the big waves.”

Mead predicted “some good ice formations along the shore” following the storm. 

But he added that photographers and other visitors should use caution on icy trails. “If people are going to go check them out, they should really be careful and wear Yaktrax and let people know where they’re going.”

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