A small piece of the bark was ground in a mortar and pestle by a local inhabitant. Īnother legend talks about the tamarack trees growing on the banks of the spring. This would then be presented to a young chieftain that they adored making him true forever. Īnother legend was that Native American maidens of the area would take a drop of honey on a piece of birch bark and dip it into the spring. It turned out that she was back at her village with other Native American maidens, laughing about his frivolous quest. He drowned in the attempt to satisfy the vanity of his love for this Native American maiden. Eventually, his canoe tipped over in the endeavor. He then took his fragile canoe onto the lake's icy waters, looking for her. He was to catch her from his canoe, proving his love. She would then leap from an overhanging branch in an act of faith. She claimed she wanted to put him through a test of love and demanded, "Prove it!" The test of his devotion was that he must set sail in his canoe on this spring lake deep in the conifer swamp. He told his girlfriend he loved her far more than the other dark-haired maidens dancing near his birchbark wigwam. ![]() One legend goes that Kitch-iti-kipi was the area's young chieftain. However, some sources suggest that Bellaire himself made them up to publicize the park. There are several purported Native American legends regarding Kitch-iti-kipi. The property deed requires the property "to be forever used as a public park, bearing the name Palms Book State Park." The State of Michigan has since acquired adjacent land, and the park now encompasses over 300 acres (120 ha). He could have purchased the spring and adjoining property himself however, he persuaded Frank Palms of the Palms Book Land Company to sell the spring and 90 acres (36 ha) to the state of Michigan for $10. īellaire saw its potential as a public recreation spot. ![]() It was hidden in a tangle of fallen trees, and loggers used the nearby area as a dump. Bellaire, owner of a Manistique Five and Dime store, fell in love with the black hole spring when he discovered it in the thick wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the 1920s. The state of Michigan acquired Kitch-iti-kipi in 1926. A kaleidoscope effect of ever-changing shapes and forms within the spring is caused by the clouds of sand kept in constant motion by the gushing waters. Other Native Americans called it "The Roaring", "Drum Water", and the "Sound of Thunder"-even though there is total silence coming from the spring. Some were "The Great Water", "The Blue Sky I See", and "Bubbling Spring". ![]() The name Kitch-iti-kipi is said to have many meanings in the language of the local indigenous Ojibwe people. On occasion, one may spot yellow perch and other species that move between Big Spring and Indian Lake. Fish species commonly present in the spring are lake trout, brown trout and brook trout. In the crystal clear waters of the spring, ancient tree trunks with mineral-encrusted branches can be seen, as well as fish. The small spring pool was created when the top layer of limestone dissolved away and collapsed into the cave already made by the underground water. The spring's pool bowl is similar to other sinkholes, except that it is connected with an aquifer (underground stream) to nearby Indian Lake. It has yet to be discovered precisely where this enormous volume of water comes from. Hydraulic pressure forces the groundwater to the surface. From fissures in underlying limestone flows 10,000 US gallons per minute (630 L/s) of spring water throughout the year at a constant temperature of 45 ☏ (7 ☌). Kitch-iti-kipi is an oval pool measuring 300 by 175 feet (91 m × 53 m) and is about 40 feet (12 m) deep with an emerald green bottom. ![]() Spring water disturbs the gray dolomite in Kitchi iti Kipi.
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