Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore runs along the south shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and pictures show off the magnificent beauty of these  cliffs whose colors change when groundwater seeps through the cracks. John Martin was on a pontoon ride with his friends in that area recently when they heard a rumble and the cliff came tumbling down.

Thankfully he had video rolling to capture the moment as a 200 foot chunk of the cliff came pouring down into the lake below.  The whole thing lasted around 60 seconds as you can here Martin yelling to his friend driving the boat to put it in reverse!

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USA Today reported that Martin told WLUC-TV:

We could hear the cliff wall popping and cracking and within 60 seconds a section of cliff approximately 200 feet wide fell before us," Martin told WLUC-TV. "The splash and swell wave were very dramatic.

CAUTION: LANGUAGE!

According to the National Park Service rock falls like this one can happen for a variety of reasons from water seeping into the cracks to varying temperatures and extreme heat.  The cliffs at the park range from 50-200 feet. All that I know is that those guys on the pontoon were awfully lucky to be as far away from the cliffs that they were or things could have ended up badly for them. This all happened within 60 seconds with no warning. This is a good reminder to everyone boating on Lake Superior to stay at a safe distance from the cliffs that pepper a huge part of the Lake Superior Shoreline everywhere.

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