• Wednesday-What'sUP April 18 - 03:34 pm

Breaking news: On a recent trip to Hungarian falls, Susan Hooker spotted what appears to be an alien spaceship, floating at the base of the waterfall. Amazingly enough, she was steady-handed in all the excitement and snapped this photo for the Pasty Cam daily edition. Hold the presses... that's not a spaceship, it's just a natural ring of foam that has formed in the churning waters of the falls. I've seen this phenomenon a number of times, but never thought about "why" it happens. Anyone have the answer?

The third picture today is from Mike Radigan and illustrates another natural phenomenon that frequents the Keweenaw. This one happens when the wind is whipping Lake Superior waves around in the frigid air temperatures of a spring storm!

Just happened to check things out and say Good Morning!

Ray

Very COOL pictures. I just love to look for different ideas in pictures. Raining here which is a nice change from that white stuff!!

Those are really good!

The water in the Big Lake looks so clear; hard to believe we can't put a foot into it until at least May.

Gorgeous photos!

Looks like frycakes or donuts in hot grease! Nice Pic Susan. I took this about a quarter mile from where Mike took his picture but from the lake side. Saw Mike on his bicycle the day I took it. It's a hard life living in the spray zone!

All the pictures today are fascinating to look at! Mother nature sure can produce some beautiful art work!

Mary,
My guess is eddy currents form the doughnut-shaped
foam.

Wow Richard, those trees look like they are waxed. I used to have white Christmas tree candles and when they melted, they looked similar to the ones in this photo. Really neat!

Have a good day everyone!

I like the ice, I think the foam is made bacause the water is soft but I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

Beautiful art work, compliments of Mother Nature and the photographers!

On the making of foam donuts, ask Eddy? The answer is swirling somewhere in his mind.

I believe that the foam in the circle is from pollutants (think trace
amounts of soap in runoff, although naturally occuring substances
could be the source). It looks too thick to just be water froth. In
addtion to eddy currents, it also seems to be a beautiful example
of a circular standing wave, a physics phenomenon. Interesting ?,
was it also turning at any speed, or just slowly building up
stationary?

I think its probably a sugar donut that BigFoot dropped on his way through the woods.

Creation of foam is very common on rivers draining basins comprised of swampland. Tannic acid is leached from roots of conifers which soften the water, as Brooke touched on. Tahquamenon River and its drainage basin are an excellent example of this. Amber color to the water is an indication of Mother Nature's "Culligan" at work.

Great pictures today. I especially like the third one that looks like whipped cream spread around, as fluffy frosting on a cake!

On the first two photos: the water looks brownish to me, like Tahquamenon Falls in the eastern UP. Those falls have foam floating around, too. According to http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.aspx?id=428
"The amber color of the water is caused by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the large amounts of foam..."

The foam could be many things such as excess nutrients in the water due to discharge from papemills. Most, however, is naturally occuring breakdown of organic materials such as leaves and wood fiber. This mixes with air and water making foam.This info comes from one of our state water experts, I talked with this morning.

Musta been a bit chilly at Hungarian falls — in the second picture, the woman with the long blond hair contemplating the scene from the precipice with her left hand up to her face appears to be wrapped in a blanket!

Hummmmmmmm must be really hot in Phx Az.....lol

I think the saucer looks like a wonderful powdered donut........just the opinion of a diabetic, who loves sweets!!!!

God Bless ya'll

Marianne, I think I learned that at Taquamenon. We go almost every year and play in the lower falls.

Geez Deb,you don't like maple syurp ,but yet you tasted the foam and then tell us it's good.Your taste buds must be outta wack.

Maybe someone dumped a box of Tide in there? People UP north wash cloths intide,to cold outtide most of the time.All in all it makes for a strange picture.

I didn't say it was good. I HATED it and all my grandpa did was laugh at me. That stuff's disgusting!

Deb, sounds like your grandpa had the same twisted sense of humor mine did.

I reckon my funny went over your head Deb.@ 6:58 am:above you must off tasted the foam doughnuts,as you wrote,"These are good" So read my post above @ 5:27 pm: and see if makes more sense.Even tho I was drinking then,and iam not now,i still think it's funny.But then many think i have a weird sense of humor.

You're so funny David. I get it now. DUH!!! Quite the comedian, aren't you? I guess you just try to keep us on our toes, right? LOL