Silver Lake Basin, for my money one of the many crown jewels of UP lakes, was drained when the dam went out last month... When the earthen seawall breached, escaping waters left a swath of destruction several miles long, stripping the (Dead) riverbed down to bare rock in many places. I took a trek up to the lake a week after it happened but really couldn't capture on film the scope of what had taken place.

The second picture is some UPPCO engineering staff inspecting the spillway and release gate at the Basin.

Sedimentation had left the bottom of Silver Lake unstable, to say the least. The closer you got to what little water remained in the lake, the more like a quagmire it had become. Public safety announcements were right when they recommended avoiding these areas...

Our thanks to Dan for the eyewitness report. As we continue through Flower Power week on the Pasty Cam - and the final days of Spring - today's bonus photo is from Dave Marner of Missouri (aka, Dave the River Slave). He recently spotted an enterprising ant helping a peony bloom to open:

What can I say Dan? Yuck! Thanks for the pics. Where can I read more about this story?

Dave Marner you have given us a very nice photograph of "Enterprising Ant".
Regards,
Donn

Try this site

http://www.mqtcty.org/psaFlood.htm

Standing waste deep in muck would not make the top TEN STUPID STUNTS, by Dan the Dam Guy.
I know I'v seen some good ones.

Dam Dan, is that really you standing in muck or is that a trick of Photoshop? "Dam" good photo anyway. When I was a child, back in the dark ages, my elderly neighbor taught me that peonies can't open without the ants. Ain't nature grand? Love those magnifying camera lenses. Great shot. Thanks to all who are providing such wonderful scenic shots of the U.P. and surrounds.

Never fear, the dam owner will most assuredly request to rebuild the dam so that the possibility of this happening again will remain. For those of you out there who really think that hydro power is green and clean, think again. This is a good example of some of the environmental costs that are never factored into the renewable and cheap equation. Some of the other costs would include "starving" downstream sections of the river from inputs of large woody debris, stopping fish and other aquatic organisms from migrating up and down the river system plus not allowing the river to do what it is naturally designed to do, transport sediment downstream.

Wow! Dan, even tho you say you couldn't get the full scope of what happened, it's still shows a sad story. Mother nature will take back what's hers unless we take care of what we create. I've seen how quickly an unattended paved road will become cracks and then weeds and then small trees and then....gone.
Thanks for the Peonie pic. I learned about the ant thing from my mom. But learned on my own that I couldn't cedar mulch my Peonies cause the ants couldn't get to the flower stems! Yikes! Good thing I noticed it in time or woulda had only unopened buds!

John Keller, Houston- thanks for the link to Marquette County's flood pic's. I lived in Marquette for 5 years in the 80's and just went camping at Tourist Park 2 years ago. I remember walking along the Dead River, driving over the bridge on Cty Rd 550..... It's both awesome and terrible to see Mother Nature at work.

Dan, your pictures are wonderful too! I didn't mean to exclude you!

For those looking to see good pictures on the Silver Lake Dam breach in the Dead River Basin, see MiningJournal.net and look for the Flash Photo Gallery under Flooding. It's a big file for phone lines but some great pictures with subtitles.

Just got done browsing through the flood pictures on the site listed above. My jaw dropped when I saw them. Did the Silver Lake dam break in a storm or what? I wonder why my family never called to tell me.

Gonna have to go take a look around over the 4th of July weekend.

Did anyone see the northern lights last night? They were dancing in the sky, all green and bright. Bright enough to see them atop Agate street from a second story window with street lights on. I like to think it's a welcoming sign to summer.=)

The safest green power is nuclear power. Less radiation released in the last 20 years then coal. Fewer environmental accidents in the U.S. then any other resource, and the potential is unlimited. The phobia of Nuclear is the only thing holding it back.

Right on with nuclear power. We are way behind the rest of the world in using this cheap, safe, clean energy system.

Re: Yesterday's comments about this year's low lake levels. Nature, with some help from Chicago, is the cause now. But don't forget that some of our bright lights in Washington D.C. think it would be a swell idea to build a pipe line out to the Southwestern states. All those folks flocking out there to live in a warm (HOT!)dry climate haven't given alot of thought about why it is warm and dry out there. They expect unlimited water and they seriously figure it is good to divert water from the Great Lakes.
If you don't think it can happen, ask old timers from the Owens Valley in CA.

I am curious if anybody found anything interesting
at the bottom of the lake?

Having worked for several Uranium mining companies in the 60's (Uranium Div. Calumet & Hecla and United Nuclear Corp.) I was truly saddened by the dismantling of the industry due to lies and false premises. I always thought the industry would be resurected some time. Perhaps still in my lifetime. After all we may have better use for natural gas than power generation. It makes an excellent feed stock for fuel cells as an example. I won't even bother going into the downside of coal.

Wind Power!!! Put some beans in dem pasties, eh?

Reading this site is like reading a journal to some people's hearts. I enjoy all (of) the comments!!!

If you are trying to find some trailing arbutus, as kids growing up in Boston Location, there was arbutus back of the old baseball diamond. I can still recall the wonderful aroma, nothing like it.
Anita from the old Boston gang.

Sorry, can't keep quiet on that one - nuclear power? Gimme a break. On the other hand, now it's known where to put the trash - to WI and old Mohawk guy. Bet they'll love the radiation in their frontyards. Also great to know there were so little accidents - how about the ones they didn't tell you about (Not to mention Chernobyl, earthquakes, planes, ...)?
I'd rather have a dam in the river - not too big, so it's possible to create a detour for the fish (can be done as far as I know), and when it breaks, well, maybe we're in trouble, but Nature as a whole won't even notice. We're not that important.

Oops, I'm sorry. That remark about where to put the trash was uncalled for. I apologize. And go on record as a fervent believer that a technology with such a big, unsolved problem (what to do safely with the leftovers) is the answer to nothing - just another cause for trouble.

To Danbury; Germany.
Although I worked in the Industry, I would not be foolish enough to debate Nuclear power with you. You probably saw the movie China syndrome which would have formed your negative opinion forever.
When I am sitting in the dark out of power I will have fond memories of your positive posts. By the way lets have more windmill generators. Aren't they a great addition to the landscape?

By As seen on the Pasty Cam on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 05:13 pm:

I was alerted to the flood by a friend the day it happened and saw some great pictures posted by the Marquette Mining Journal. I have just reviewed some pictures posted by the city at http://www.mqtcty.org.

I spent 1967-1971 in Marquette and the tourist park was a favorite destination. Does any one know if the dam will be rebuilt at the tourist park?