page_title: Gogebic Range
section_title: Range today
hierarchical_section_title: Gogebic Range / Range today
caption_attribution_description: Penokee Bluff
context_page_description: The Gogebic Range is an elongated area of iron ore deposits located within a range of hills in northern Michigan and Wisconsin just south of Lake Superior. It extends from Lake Namakagon in Wisconsin eastward to Lake Gogebic in Michigan, or almost 80 miles. Though long, it is only about a half mile wide and forms a crescent concave to the southeast. The Gogebic Range includes the communities of Ironwood in Michigan, plus Mellen and Hurley in Wisconsin.
  The name Gogebic is Ojibwa for "where trout rising to the surface make rings in the water." "Range" is the term commonly used for such iron ore areas around Lake Superior. In Wisconsin, the Gogebic Range is often called the Penokee Range. The range is named after Lake Gogebic, a large lake near the east end of the range in Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties in Michigan.
  Located within the southern of two parallel prominent ridges, the Gogebic range iron formation name is often used interchangeably with the range of hills that encompass it. The hills composing the Gogebic range vary from 100 to 600 feet above the surrounding terrain, and are a prominent landform visible for miles.
context_section_description: Today the area has largely recovered from the scars left behind by the iron-mining boom days. The Gogebic Range has developed a tourism industry featuring ski resorts and waterfalls. After being clearcut during the unregulated lumbering era during the 19th and early 20th centuries, nearly the entire area has re-grown into extensive second-growth North Woods forests. The region includes vast areas of government-owned public land, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, the Ottawa National Forest, and the Iron County and Gogebic County Forests, which are managed for recreation and timber production. Recreational activities include fishing in rivers and lakes, hunting, hiking, and snowmobiling and mountain biking on a network of trails built on old logging roads. A portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail follows the Gogebic range, providing waterfall viewing opportunities and scenic overlooks of the surrounding forests.
  With the regrowth of the forests, wildlife returned to the area. Large mammals documented in the region include species such as white-tailed deer, wolves, moose, black bear, and elk, which were recently reintroduced to Wisconsin's Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
  Gogebic County and neighboring Iron County, across the state line in Wisconsin, are heavily promoted during the ski season as "Big Snow Country".  Heavy lake-effect snow from cold northerly winds blowing across the relatively warm waters of nearby Lake Superior result in large annual accumulations of up to 200 inches (5.1 m) of snow in northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan.  The steep terrain of the Gogebic Range enhances the lake effect snowfall by providing orographic lift to the air mass, usually providing ample snowfall for winter recreation activities including snowmobiling, Cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and snowshoeing.  Several ski resorts are located along the Gogebic Range including Whitecap Mountain in Iron County and Indianhead Mountain, Big Powderhorn Mountain, and Blackjack Ski Resort in Gogebic County.  There is also a natural ski hill by Lake Superior at Porcupine Mountains State Park, less than an hour from Ironwood.
  The Copper Peak Ski flying hill is located near Ironwood, Michigan.  This facility is the only ski flying hill in the western hemisphere, and hosted 10 ski flying events between 1970 and 1994.  The 240-foot high tower on top of the Copper Peak hill allowed ski jumpers to fly over 500 feet through the air and provides views of three states and Lake Superior.  Although currently not used, plans exist for renovating the facility and the resumption of competitive ski jumping at the hill.
  Gogebic County has 22 waterfalls, with ten more across the Montreal River in neighboring Iron County, Wisconsin. Ashland County, Wisconsin also has several waterfalls.  Significant waterfalls are located along the Presque Isle and Black rivers within half a mile (0.8 km) of Lake Superior. Other attractions on the east fork of the Montreal River that forms the Michigan–Wisconsin border northwest of Ironwood and Hurley include Superior Falls (which is bordered by 100-foot (30 m) cliffs), Saxon Falls, Interstate Falls, and Peterson Falls. Major waterfalls in Iron County, Wisconsin include Rock Cut, Gile, Kimball, and Spring Camp Falls on the west fork of the Montreal River, Foster, Upson, and Potato River Falls on the Potato River, and Wren Falls on the Tyler Forks River. Major waterfalls in Ashland County, Wisconsin include Copper Falls and Brownstone Falls on the Bad River in Copper Falls State Park.
  With metals trading at unprecedented prices during the early 2010s commodity bubble, companies again explored the possibilities of mining in the Gogebic Range to extract remaining, lower-quality ore. The lower-grade Taconite ore of interest was located in the western portion of the Gogebic Range in Wisconsin.  Generally it was not considered profitable, and concerns about the health and environmental impact to the region and Lake Superior resulting from the proposed massive miles-long open pit iron mines, associ
caption: Penokee Bluff White Pine
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