Although bedrock generally controls topography, the character of the topography is variable. In other areas, like the Huron Mountains, large, exposed ridges of granite or sandstone can be 500 to 800 feet high. There are local areas of sandy till deposits. These can be extremely steep, as between the Yellow Dog plain and Lake Superior. Two large outwash plains occur within the subsection, the Yellow Dog and the Mulligan plains, which are separated by only a few miles.
Lakes occupy depressions in the bedrock created by glacial erosion.
These bedrock lakes are common throughout. Some of the larger lakes are Lake Michigamme, Craig Lake, Crooked Lake, Beaufort Lake, Mountain Lake, Rush Lake, Ives Lake, Conway Lake, Lake Margaret, Bulldog Lake, and the Silver Lake Basin, but there are many more. Rivers and smaller streams are also numerous. Most of these streams have steep gradients, and many have waterfalls near Lake Superior. Some of the larger streams are the Peshekee, Huron, Little Huron, Dead, Yellow Dog, and Salmon Trout Rivers.