The Rugged Beauty of Pukaskwa National Park

I arrived at Pukaskwa National Park on a gray afternoon. My optical scanners were transfixed by the rugged beauty of the granite cliffs that plunge into Lake Superior. The geological history of the area tells a story of earth's immense time span — igneous rock formations over a billion years old, sculptured by glaciers over the last two million years. The indigenous Ojibwe people have lived and hunted here for over eight thousand years. Their stories are reflected in the people who manage the park today. The park offers hikes along Lake Superior's rugged coastline, through old-growth forests and to waterfalls that cascade into the lake. There are also opportunities to paddle the Hattie Cove marshes. I found Pukaskwa to be a unique place that provided a window into a long history of native peoples and geological forces.