Kitch-iti-kipi: Beneath the Emerald Waters of Michigan’s Hidden Gem

If you've been, you know if you haven't been, put it on your bucket list. The famous emerald green pool of Michigan's Kitch-iti-kipi Big Spring, also known as the Mirror of Heaven. But how did it get there? How did one of the largest freshwater springs in the world appear in the middle of swamp land in the Upper Peninsula?

How Michigan's Kitch-iti-kipi Was Formed (Spoiler: It Wasn't Magic)

Picture this: about 375 million years ago, Michigan wasn't all lakes and cars--it was under a warm, shallow sea. This sea was filled with a slew of creatures, from corals to clams, all busy living and dying. When these guys kicked the bucket, their shells and skeletons piled up on the sea floor, mixing with lime mud.

Think of it like a prehistoric version of a backyard compost pile, but you've got a bunch of shells instead of banana peels. Now, fast forward a few million years.

Eventually, the sea dried up and left, but all the shell and lime stayed. Over millions of years, these layers got squished together and formed limestone. Over several million years, water started creeping into cracks and dissolving the stone, creating caves and sinkholes.

How a Sea and a Glacier Helped Form Michigan's Kitch-iti-kipi

Fast-forward another few million years to the Ice Age, and Michigan was covered with glaciers. Glaciers are like teenagers; they drag their feet wherever they go and track sand, rocks, and whatever else crosses their paths with them. These glaciers carved huge crevices into the limestone, grinding it to sand and carrying it to its eventual destination. When the iceberg melted in what is now Palms Book State Park in Manistique, it left a slew of water and sand, and it seeped into cracks in the limestone.

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Water from underground started bubbling up through a big crack in the limestone, creating what we now know as Kitch-iti-kipi. This crystal clear spring is at a constant 45 degrees and wouldn't exist without the ancient sea and creatures that once covered the area now known as Michigan. Here's a look at both the surface and the bottom of Michigan's hidden gem, Kitch-iti-kipi.